The Spanish Grand Prix leaves its long-time home at the Circuit de Catalunya for a new street circuit, MADRING, which hosts the race for the first time from 11 to 13 September 2026. Madrid signed a long-term deal to host the race, taking over the Spanish Grand Prix name and slot from Barcelona, which had held it every year since 1991. It is worth remembering that Madrid is not entirely new territory for the championship, however.
The city’s Jarama circuit staged the Spanish Grand Prix nine times between 1968 and 1981, before Barcelona took over in 1991. What is new is the format: a high-speed street track through the Spanish capital, and the first time in over three decades that the race has returned to where it all began, geographically at least.
For Carlos Sainz Jr., that history is personal. Born in Madrid in 1994, the Spanish driver has spent his entire Formula 1 career racing a “home” Grand Prix that was never actually staged in his home city. That changes this weekend, and the Williams driver has made sure nobody misses the point.
Sainz marked the occasion with a helmet redesign, reviving the livery he wore in his first karting race back in 2005. Posting the new design on social media, he tied the two moments together directly: “From my first karting race in 2005 to my first F1 race in Madrid.” He shared that the design was inspired by his father, updated with his own touch for this weekend in Madrid. A small chili pepper sits beside his number 55, a nod to his longtime nickname among fans.
His father is Carlos Sainz Sr., a two-time World Rally Championship (WRC) champion whose career overlapped almost exactly with his son’s introduction to the sport. The elder Sainz’s final WRC season came in 2005, the same year that shows up repeatedly in his son’s account of falling for motorsport. It was also the year a young Sainz met Fernando Alonso at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona, an encounter he has referenced in multiple interviews as the moment he decided he wanted to be a Formula 1 driver rather than follow his father into rallying.
Two decades on from that decision, Sainz arrives in Madrid with more than a helmet and a good story. He recently signed a multi-year contract extension with Williams, capping a career that has taken in Toro Rosso, Renault, McLaren and Ferrari, plus four Grand Prix wins along the way. That deal means this weekend is not a one-off sentimental detour. The Madrid-born driver now has a settled seat to build on, and a genuine home race to build it in front of.
What it does need is a result. He has never finished on the podium at the Spanish Grand Prix, regardless of venue, a statistic that home supporters filling MADRING’s grandstands would love to see corrected this weekend.
