The municipality headed by José Luis Martínez-Almeida has initiated the process of granting an activity license for the circuit where, from 2026 and until 2035, the Madrid Formula 1 Grand Prix will be contested. Among the key stages of this process is the deadline for reviewing objections to the prior special plan, necessary to adjust the area to the requirements of the race. This deadline for expressing objections ended on January 3, coinciding with the period of Christmas festivities.
Despite these deadlines, the Más Madrid party has raised objections to the project, emphasizing two aspects: access to data and the temporary or permanent nature of the circuit. The first point raises what they consider to be a “limitation of the right to public information”, arguing that during the period of public information, the Madrid administration only gave citizens access in person, thus limiting electronic or online means.
José Luis Nieto, advisor to Más Madrid and spokesperson for the group at the Urban Planning Commission, criticizes the lack of transparency of the process: “Everything related to the Formula 1 operation in Ifema seems opaque and suspicious. The deadline for expressing objections was cleverly coincided with the Christmas holidays, forcing any citizen wishing to access the file to physically go to municipal offices, thus circumventing the use of new technologies advocated by the Transparency Law.”
Nieto asks: “Why so much secrecy?” Together with his party's spokesperson in Cibeles, Rita Maestre, he signed the letter of objection, also mentioning a more substantial objection regarding the temporary or permanent nature of the activity. “The request for a temporary license seems like a joke, given that we are talking about installations with clearly permanent implications, as even two municipal technical reports reconfirm,” adds Nieto.
Dismountable circuit or fixed structure?
“According to the documentation provided, the circuit will not be an easily removable infrastructure for each annual event, and the promoters have indicated that they intend to organize numerous competitions beyond the Formula 1 Grand Prix,” he underlines. The document specifies that “the circuit will host Formula 2 and Formula 3 races during the period 2026-2035 (the same as for Formula 1), with intentions to also organize MotoGP events.” “It is logical to consider the activity as permanent and to subject it to a process taking into account the full impacts of all the installations and its programming from 2026 to 2035,” insists the advisor.
“This request for a temporary license aims to avoid more rigorous control and evaluation of urban and environmental impacts, which will not be tolerated. In our objections, we demand that this file be withdrawn and that a new process be initiated, without shortcuts and in complete transparency,” says Nieto. For the moment, the Department of Urban Planning, headed by Borja Carabante, has not responded to the questions raised regarding the impossibility of accessing information digitally and the temporary or permanent nature of the structure.
The future route should not deviate from the urban circuit proposed to the International Automobile Federation (FIA). From 2026 it will cover the Ifema site, as well as Valdebebas and other areas of the Hortaleza district. Its length will reach 5,474 km and will feature 20 turns, which drivers should complete in around a minute and a half.
The technical project of the concept of the circuit and its installations, which has yet to be approved by the FIA, was developed by the company Dromo (responsible for the Silverstone and Singapore circuits). It provides 1.5 kilometers on public roads in Madrid, while the other almost four kilometers of route will take place on roads in Ifema.
Dromo describes the circuit as a “fast and safe layout”, with the presence of more slopes than on traditional circuits and a maximum speed reaching 300 kilometers per hour, including four overtaking zones and curves 12 to 15 meters wide.
Más Madrid had already raised objections last July against the preliminary project for the construction of the circuit and the paddock pavilions, raising questions relating to the procedure for handling the project, its environmental and noise impact (with the felling of 729 trees) , as well as the absence of measures to mitigate noise for local residents.
“We see how Almeida wants to modify the town planning of Ifema by indirect means: by speeding up the procedure in the middle of the summer period to avoid assessing the environmental impact of a racing circuit,” Nieto lamented, putting highlight the tendency of Madrid administrations to promote the project during the holidays.
According to Ifema's budget estimates, the cost of the work will amount to 137.1 million euros. Ifema is a public-private consortium where the investment of the municipality and the Community of Madrid represents 62% of its financing. With this call for tenders, they are looking for a developer responsible for excavation work, construction of buildings and civil engineering, as well as surfacing and asphalting of the roads used by the single-seaters.
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Good to know
- The creation of the circuit could lead to significant changes on a local scale, particularly in terms of traffic and town planning.
- The project has raised concerns about its environmental impact, particularly regarding the felling of trees.
- The circuit is not only expected to host the Formula 1 GP, but also other motorsport competitions throughout the season.
- Source image(s) : www.eldiario.es
- Source : https://www.eldiario.es/madrid/somos/madrid-alega-licencia-actividad-temporal-gran-premio-formula-1-instalacion-permanente_1_11938683.html
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