George Russell couldn't help but smile when talking about the new Madring circuit. “This is a crazy circuit. I would say it's arguably the most risky circuit of the whole calendar,” he said. It's not without reason. Madring, which will host its first F1 race this weekend, has become the talk of the paddock due to its challenging reputation.
Drivers have spent hours in the simulator preparing, but it was only on Thursday that they got a close-up look at how the circuit has come together in the real world. The result? A mix of admiration and anxiety. George Russell was even surprised by the number of red flags in the Formula 3 test two weeks ago. “When I heard about the 19 red flags in F3, I was a bit surprised. And then after I drove on the sim, I was surprised there was only 19,” he quipped.
Madring is no ordinary track. With blind corners, close walls, and little room for error, every lap can be a nightmare. Gabriel Bortoleto described it as “mentally exhausting”. Meanwhile, Alex Albon, who just walked the track, said, “A lot of walls, a lot of high-speed corners, a lot of blind corners gives me vibes of Macau, but more for an F1 track.”
The main concern is visibility at the banked La Monumental corner. Albon is particularly worried about where cars will get out of the way in qualifying. “I don't think there's a correct place you can position the car,” he said. “If you put the car up top, actually I think the line is kind of drift up to the middle of the track and then you come back again. So, you're not in a perfect place. It reminds me a little bit of, do you remember Fernando and Esteban in Brazil at Turn 3 [in sprint qualifying in 2023]? You can get dirty air and the dirty air can create the knock-on effect.”
Pierre Gasly has his own prediction: “I'll put my money on the red flag, that's for sure.” He expects quite a “disrupted weekend” with accidents. Sergio Perez, after his simulator running, called it “a proper track. It's a bit scary. It reminds me a bit of Jeddah.” His Cadillac teammate, Valtteri Bottas, described it as a mix between Jeddah and Baku, while others have compared it to Monaco.
For teams, Madring presents its own challenges. James Vowles, Williams boss, called it “a track that kills cars”. With many tricky corners and close walls, the risk of car damage is high. Esteban Ocon from Haas called it a “crazy circuit” with so much risk versus reward trade-offs to make. Meanwhile, championship leader Kimi Antonelli says it's the “most complicated” track of the year for both drivers and engineers.
The question is, will Madring be an exciting track or just dangerous? One thing is for sure, the drivers are prepared for anything. “Inevitably, there are going to be a few crashes this weekend,” Albon said. We'll just have to wait and see the action on track.
Baca Juga
Madring, sirkuit baru F1 2026, disebut paling berisiko oleh pembalap. Simak kekhawatiran dan ekspektasi mereka jelang balapan perdana.
George Russell akui Kimi Antonelli lebih cepat di F1 2026. Tertinggal 66 poin, Russell kini punya jawaban dan fokus perbaiki performa.
George Russell blak-blakan soal peluang juara F1 2026 usai tertinggal 66 poin dari Kimi Antonelli. Ia akui butuh keberuntungan dan performa lebih baik.
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