{"id":2052,"date":"2026-09-10T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/?p=2052"},"modified":"2026-09-10T14:15:54","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T17:15:54","slug":"verstappen-compares-madring-with-jeddah-and-warns-that-could-punish-small-mistakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/verstappen-compares-madring-with-jeddah-and-warns-that-could-punish-small-mistakes\/","title":{"rendered":"Verstappen compares Madring with Jeddah and warns that could punish small mistakes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">News Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Max Verstappen warned that mistakes at the new Madring circuit could quickly lead to accidents because of its high-speed corners and close barriers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Red Bull driver compared parts of the Madrid track with Jeddah, where drivers also have very little margin for error.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Verstappen said managing the limits of the circuit will be crucial as drivers learn how the new venue behaves during its first F1 weekend.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Max Verstappen expects the new Madring circuit to leave Formula 1 drivers with very little room for error when the Spanish Grand Prix gets underway in Madrid this weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speaking at the Spanish GP press conference attended by <strong>GRANDE PR\u00caMIO<\/strong>, the Red Bull driver highlighted the combination of high-speed sections and barriers close to the racing line as one of the biggest challenges of Formula 1\u2019s newest circuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Madring is making its F1 debut this weekend, meaning the entire grid will have to learn the track in real-world conditions. Formula 3 drivers already provided an early indication of how demanding it can be, with numerous incidents during testing and several red-flag interruptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Verstappen had already experienced the layout in the simulator and believes the circuit can punish even relatively small errors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Verstappen compares Madring with Jeddah<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Asked about the risks associated with the new circuit, Verstappen pointed to the narrow margins available to drivers when they are pushing at the limit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYeah, it can be. In some places, when you make a small mistake, it can result in a crash. But in Jeddah it\u2019s the same thing, we\u2019ve talked about that already,\u201d Verstappen said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSo it\u2019s something you have to deal with, try to understand the margins, keep it under control. But when you\u2019re on the limit, it\u2019s easy to make a mistake. So we\u2019ll see how it unfolds over the weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The comparison with Jeddah is significant. The Saudi Arabian circuit is one of F1\u2019s fastest street tracks, with high-speed corners bordered by barriers, meaning drivers have little opportunity to recover from an error.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Madring presents a similar challenge in several sections, although its layout is considerably different. The circuit features 22 corners and combines street-circuit characteristics with faster, more open sections. Early F3 running also showed how quickly a mistake can become costly when the barriers are close.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">New track means no room for complacency<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unlike established venues, the Madring arrives on the F1 calendar without a history of Grand Prix running for the current generation of cars. Teams therefore have limited real-world data on tyre behaviour, track evolution and the ideal setup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That makes the first sessions particularly important, as drivers will need to establish where the actual limits lie rather than relying solely on simulator preparation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Verstappen&#8217;s comments underline the balance the drivers will have to find. Pushing too little could cost significant lap time, while exceeding the limit could result in contact with the barriers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The challenge is particularly relevant in qualifying, when drivers will be expected to extract the maximum performance from the car over a single lap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For Verstappen, however, the key will be learning where the acceptable margins are before attempting to push beyond them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Madring\u2019s first F1 weekend begins on Friday, with Free Practice 1 followed by Free Practice 2. Qualifying takes place on Saturday, before the inaugural Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The race represents the beginning of a new chapter for the Spanish GP, with Madrid joining the calendar alongside Barcelona as F1\u2019s second Spanish venue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>GRANDE PR\u00caMIO<\/strong> is in Madrid throughout the weekend and will cover the first Formula 1 race at the Madring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">FAQ<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Is the Madring similar to Jeddah?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Parts of the Madring share characteristics with Jeddah, particularly the combination of high-speed corners and barriers close to the racing line. Max Verstappen said the two circuits can offer similarly small margins for error.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why is the Madring considered difficult for F1 drivers?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The circuit has 22 corners and combines fast sections with close barriers. Formula 3 testing at the venue also produced numerous incidents, highlighting how difficult it can be to consistently stay within the limits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When is the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Spanish Grand Prix takes place at the Madring in Madrid from September 11-13, with the race scheduled for Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Speaking at the Spanish GP press conference attended by GRANDE PR\u00caMIO, Max Verstappen compared Madrid\u2019s new circuit with Jeddah and warned that small errors could have major consequences<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1020314276,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"42wp_featured_image_caption":"Max Verstappen","42wp_featured_image_credits":"Red Bull Content Pool","42wp_featured_video":"","42wp_ai_content_disclaimer":"","42wp_is_ai_content":false,"42wp_featured_image_hidden":false,"42wp_authors_list":[{"id":21,"location":"Madrid"},{"id":44,"location":""}],"footnotes":"","42wp_hide_from_automatic":false,"42wp_breaking_news":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[325,478,64,66,29],"42wp_author":[44,21],"class_list":["post-2052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-f1","tag-f1-2026","tag-madring","tag-max-verstappen","tag-red-bull","tag-spanish-gp","42wp_author-gabriel-carvalho","42wp_author-leonid-kliuev"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2052"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2052\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2054,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2052\/revisions\/2054"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1020314276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2052"},{"taxonomy":"42wp_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/42wp_author?post=2052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}