Is Madrid Already F1's Worst Track? | 2026 Spanish GP Review

Four overtakes. Fewer than Monaco. And F1 has signed a ten-year deal to come back. Tom and Chris review the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix from Madrid's new Madring circuit and ask whether any amount of corner reprofiling can save it. In this episode: Antonelli cashes in on another virtual safety car to win and stretch his lead to 81 points; Norris is fastest all day and finishes third; Verstappen is ordered to hand a place back to Hamilton; and Hamilton ends up touring the circuit with no brakes. Plus the argument for closing the pit lane under a VSC, Lawson's likely last outing in the Red Bull, Sainz's miserable home weekend, and a Coca-Cola can causing more fuss than the race did. CHAPTERS 0:00 - Intro 1:14 - Madrid: an industrial estate with a banked corner attached 2:34 - Four overtakes and a ten-year deal 6:11 - A blank slate, wasted 9:00 - Track limit issues 11:20 - What we'd change 14:07 - Antonelli wins again on virtual safety car luck 15:05 - Verstappen v Hamilton and the order to hand it back 19:29 - Norris: fastest all day, third by VSC 20:37 - Should a VSC close the pit lane? 24:59 - McLaren's share of the blame 26:38 - Ferrari: Hamilton's brakes, Leclerc's long game 28:21 - Russell hung out to dry on a two-stop 30:49 - Piastri's wing, Lawson and the Red Bull seat 32:32 - Colapinto scores as Alpine close on Racing Bulls 34:43 - Sainz's home nightmare 36:33 - Ocon's best since Monaco 37:26 - Driver of the Day 39:54 - Move of the Day 41:09 - WTF of the Day: no brakes, no spin, no Coca-Cola 47:44 - Predictions league and fantasy results 50:59 - A week off, then Baku LINKS Predictions league, fantasy leagues and contact form: https://backofthegrid.com Patreon (listen live, plus our Discord community): https://patreon.com/backofthegrid X, Instagram and Facebook: @BackOfTheGridF1 Back of the Grid is a weekly Formula 1 podcast by fans, for fans. Tom and Chris breaking down every race weekend without the paddock access or the party line. Like, subscribe, and drop your take in the comments, we read and reply to all of them. #F1 #SpanishGP #Formula1