WHAT TO WATCH FOR: The key items ahead of the Madring debut

We head back to Spain for Round 11 of the 2026 campaign but it is the capital of Madrid that hosts an FIA Formula 2 weekend for the very first time.

The Madring is a super-fast street circuit that will put the drivers to the test as they look to find the limit around the 5-kilometre layout.

Ahead of on-track action getting underway, here are a few key items you’ll want to keep in mind this weekend.

COMMITMENT REQUIRED

The Madring layout is a blend of flowing corners, blind entries and requires absolute commitment from the drivers in order to extract laptime.

Budapest’s middle sector with walls isn’t too far away from what the drivers will face. Of the races on the F1 and F2 calendar, the new Madrid track shares a few similarities with the Jeddah Corniche Circuit according to the Formula 3 drivers that have driven it during in-season testing last month.

With just one 45-minute Practice session to get to grips with the track ahead of Qualifying, those that are able to keep it clean and accumulate mileage will be at an advantage come the 30-minute grid-setting session.

As always around a street circuit, it’s about building up to the limit rather than finding it right away. Dial things in slowly, analyse where the time can be gained before going all out in Qualifying on Friday afternoon.

It will surely be a spectacle however, with the corners providing one of the most thrilling laps of the season in terms of man and machine working together in harmony.

Who will make history and secure the fastest time around the Madring?

LA MONUMENTAL

Turn 12 is arguable the highlight of the new circuit, with a maximum of 13.5 degrees of banking, it is the most banked corner on the calendar and one that will thrill drivers and fans alike.

The right-hander is seemingly never ending, and rises as the drivers approach the exit of the corner into a tricky downhill braking zone for Turn 13.

It will compress the drivers into their cars as they get closer to corner exit, with the G-forces pushing them down into the cockpit before the rise over a brow of a hill and descending into sector three.

From there, the track really tests commitment, with a flowing series of lefts and rights to close the lap.

But that banked Turn 12 will be a spectacular place to watch from on the ground and will impress on TV too.

Will anyone be brave enough to try an overtake there? We will have to wait and see…

GETTING CLOSER IN THE TITLE RACE

As things stand, Nikola Tsolov continues to lead the pack in the Drivers’ Championship, with six wins on the season putting him above the rest on 177 points.

However, with a fifth pole of the year and another Feature Race podium at Monza with P2, Rafael Câmara is slowly but surely chipping away at that advantage.

The points deficit heading into Madrid stands at just 11 points after the Invicta Racing driver’s podium around the Temple of Speed, and he is the driver in form currently.

In fact, the last time Câmara failed to finish inside the top four on a Sunday was way back in June at Round 4 in Monte Carlo.

Tsolov meanwhile hasn’t stood on the podium since his P3 finish in the Spa-Francorchamps Feature Race prior to the summer break, and has scored just 16 points in the subsequent two rounds compared to Câmara’s 41.

The Bulgarian driver will be aiming to curtail his rival’s impressive run of form this weekend, and re-establish himself as comfortable leader heading into Baku later in September.