Max Verstappen has given his first verdict on the newly constructed Madring, offering a characteristic blend of blunt realism and measured praise following Friday's opening practice sessions for the Spanish Grand Prix.
After two hours of running on Formula 1’s newest venue, the Red Bull driver had experienced enough of the 5.4km circuit to form an opinion. It was hardly a glowing endorsement, although Verstappen did find plenty to admire in the way the ambitious project has been put together.
The Madring’s unusual blend of public-road sections and purpose-built track has generated a lot of discussion in the paddock, with its faster passages and confined, technical corners inviting comparisons with Jeddah and Baku.
For Verstappen, however, one fundamental problem remains.
‘I’m not a fan of street circuits’
Asked for his initial thoughts after Friday’s running, the four-time world champion initially offered little enthusiasm.
"I don't know," said Verstappen, who then made clear that the location and spectacle cannot quite overcome his longstanding preference for traditional circuits.
"I'm not a fan of street circuits, so that will never change, and I'll always prefer to drive on a track like Spa.
"But, what they have done in the way they have built everything up, I think they've done a really good job. But I'm not a fan of street circuits."
So there is praise for the architecture of the venue, but not exactly a love letter to Madrid’s newest piece of F1 real estate.
The irony is that the Madring’s first day also failed to deliver the sort of chaos some had predicted. Despite the circuit’s unforgiving character and fears of repeated accidents, Friday produced only one red flag across the two practice sessions.
That interruption came when Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad crashed at Turn 13 in FP2. Even after his accident, however, the Briton retained fourth place on the timesheets.
Red Bull still searching for speed
The bigger concern for Verstappen was not the walls but what was happening between them.
He ended Friday sixth fastest, 0.401 seconds away from Mercedes pacesetter Kimi Antonelli, while stand-in Red Bull teammate Liam Lawson finished tenth.
The RB22 therefore appears to have some work to do if Verstappen is to turn his first impressions of the Madring into anything more memorable than a Friday grumble.
"From our side, it's more or less where we are," he said.
"We just need to work a little bit on the balance, trying to just get a bit more out of it over one lap, and then see how the tyres hold up on the long run. But I mean, I guess everyone is a bit in the same boat."
That final observation may provide Verstappen with some consolation. The Madring remains an unknown quantity for the entire field, and nobody has yet fully unlocked its peculiar combination of high-speed commitment, slow corners and unforgiving walls.
For now, though, Verstappen’s verdict is decidedly mixed: Madrid has built an impressive stage, but the Dutchman would still rather perform on a circuit like Spa – preferably with a Red Bull that is considerably quicker than it was on Friday.
Spanish Grand Prix Free Practice 1 - Results
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