Honda and Aston Martin are preparing for one of Madring’s biggest challenges, with the steeply banked La Monumental putting unusual demands on the cars and power units.

The 2026 Spanish Grand Prix is bringing Formula 1 to Madring for the first time, and one corner is already standing out from the rest. La Monumental runs for more than half a kilometer and features a 24 percent banking angle. That combination creates unusual forces for the car, while the 2026 regulations add another complication through energy management. Honda and Aston Martin have spent weeks preparing for those conditions in the simulator.

Honda Is Watching the Lubrication System

Honda F1 representative Shintaro Orihara says La Monumental could be particularly demanding for the power unit. The steep banking creates both lateral and vertical G-forces, placing extra pressure on the engine’s lubrication system.

Honda therefore plans to start with a more conservative lubrication setup. The team can then reduce that margin as it gathers real-world data during the weekend.

La Monumental’s steep banking creates unusual lateral and vertical loads for the cars and power units.

Aston Martin Has Prepared for Different Grip Levels

Aston Martin has also been planning for the unknowns of a brand-new circuit. Track grip can have a major effect on how the 2026 cars recover and deploy electrical energy, so the team has studied several possible scenarios before arriving in Madrid.

Track director Mike Krack says Aston Martin and Honda have spent significant time in the simulator preparing for different levels of grip and changing conditions. That work should help the team react faster if the real track behaves differently from the forecasts.

Aston Martin and Honda have used extensive simulator work to prepare for Madring’s unpredictable conditions.

Everyone Will Start Conservatively

There is another reason for caution. Madring already produced several incidents during a Formula 3 test in August, raising questions about how aggressively F1 drivers will be able to attack the circuit from the start.

Krack expects teams to build up gradually. Drivers will first need to understand the surface, tire behavior, and car balance before pushing toward the limit.

Teams are expected to build up their pace gradually as they learn the new Madring circuit.

That makes La Monumental one of the most intriguing sections of the first Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid. Its banking, heavy G-loads, mechanical demands, and impact on energy management could make it a major factor throughout the weekend. Honda and Aston Martin know that the fastest approach may not be the most aggressive one at first. Understanding the corner will come before trying to exploit every last bit of performance.

Oscar Piastri says McLaren struggled more than expected at Madring, with severe tire graining emerging as one of the team’s biggest problems during Friday practice.

Oscar Piastri’s first Formula 1 experience at Madring has been tougher than expected. The McLaren driver finished seventh in FP2, more than half a second behind Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli. While Piastri enjoyed the new Madrid circuit when he managed to complete a clean lap, the long runs exposed a much bigger problem. Tire management, and especially graining, quickly became a major concern.

McLaren Struggles With Long-Run Pace

Piastri admitted that McLaren was lacking pace on Friday, even though he hopes the team can make progress before qualifying. Mercedes topped both sessions, while Ferrari also showed strong pace with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.

McLaren’s Friday was made more difficult by Lando Norris, who missed almost all of FP2 after a problem forced the team to change his gearbox. That left Piastri with most of the running needed to assess the MCL40.

Oscar Piastri finished seventh in FP2 as McLaren struggled to match Mercedes and Ferrari at Madring.

Learning Madring Is No Easy Task

The new Madrid circuit has challenged the drivers from the very first laps. Piastri said learning the layout was more difficult than at some other new venues because several corners require drivers to turn toward the barriers before quickly changing direction.

The tight walls also leave little room for mistakes. Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad became the first F1 driver to crash at Madring when he hit the wall at Turn 13 and brought out the first red flag at the circuit.

The tight walls and technical layout of Madring have made the new circuit difficult for drivers to learn.

Piastri still sees plenty to enjoy when everything comes together. He said the track becomes genuinely fun once a driver finds a strong rhythm over a complete lap.

“A Nightmare” on Race Runs

The biggest issue appeared during the longer runs.

Piastri described managing the tires through graining as “a nightmare”, with the problem appearing across several of Madring’s corners. He also believes McLaren is suffering more from the issue than some of its rivals.

The Australian expects the track to improve as more rubber builds up on the surface, but he admitted there are only a limited number of setup changes McLaren can make to fix the problem.

Severe tire graining has made McLaren’s long-run performance one of the biggest question marks at Madring.

That leaves the team with plenty of work overnight. Mercedes and Ferrari currently appear to have the advantage, while McLaren needs to determine how much of its Friday deficit comes from the car and how much can disappear as the new track evolves.

George Russell says tire degradation could become one of the biggest challenges at Madring, even as Mercedes remains the team to beat after Friday practice.

Mercedes arrived in Madrid with the same strong form it showed in Monza. George Russell led FP1, while teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli finished FP2 fastest. But after the first day at the new Madring circuit, Russell identified another major concern: tire degradation. The Mercedes driver said the degradation seen in the morning session was so severe that a six-stop strategy could have been the fastest way to complete the race.

Tire Degradation Could Shape the Race

Russell said the situation improved during FP2 as more rubber went down on the track. He expects that process to continue throughout the weekend, especially because newly laid asphalt can initially provide plenty of grip while also causing aggressive sliding.

The tire behavior remains one of the biggest unknowns ahead of Sunday’s race. A major change in degradation levels could completely alter the teams’ strategies and create more opportunities for overtaking.

George Russell says tire degradation could become a major strategic factor during the first Formula 1 race at Madring.

Mercedes Still Looks Like the Team to Beat

Russell set the pace in FP1 with a 1:34.077, beating Antonelli by 0.286 seconds. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton followed in third and fourth.

Antonelli then took over at the top in FP2 with a 1:33.662. Russell finished fifth after failing to complete a clean lap on the new soft tires. Even so, Mercedes remained firmly in the fight for pole position.

Ferrari also looked competitive, while Max Verstappen finished sixth and Oscar Piastri seventh. McLaren suffered a setback when a gearbox issue kept Lando Norris out for much of FP2.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli set the fastest time in FP2 as Mercedes continued to lead the early running in Madrid.

Madring Is Already Proving Risky

Russell also expects drivers to face a significant challenge from the circuit itself. Madring has several sections where the barriers sit close to the track, leaving little room for mistakes.

The first sessions were relatively clean, but the FP2 session produced the circuit’s first major accident when Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad hit the barriers at Turn 13.

Russell believes drivers are still leaving a small safety margin. That margin should disappear during qualifying, when lap time becomes critical.

Arvid Lindblad’s FP2 crash at Turn 13 produced the first major red flag at the new Madring circuit.

Overtaking could also prove difficult. Russell expects the situation to improve only if tire degradation remains high enough to create performance differences between cars.

That could become one of the defining features of the weekend. The worse the tires survive, the more opportunities there may be for the race to become unpredictable. After Mercedes topped both Friday sessions, the real question is whether its pace can survive the changing track conditions and tire demands.