Team representatives from Cadillac, Aston Martin and Racing Bulls praised the new Madring circuit in Madrid following the opening practice session of the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix, while flagging tyre management and proximity to barriers as key weekend challenges.
Cadillac’s Marcin Budkowski, making his first appearance at a race weekend since taking charge of the American outfit roughly three and a half weeks ago, described the track as physically demanding. “There’s a lot of grip, actually, for a new track with a lot of medium- and fast-speed corners coming one after the other,” Budkowski said. “Keeping the tyre in the right temperature range is going to be challenging, and also a challenging race.”
Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack credited the circuit organisers for the quality of the venue in its inaugural year. “I think we have to congratulate F1 and the promoter here. It’s a fantastic circuit, fantastic venue, very well prepared. Year one is certainly not easy,” Krack said. He also noted that all teams had instructed their drivers to be conservative in FP1 to protect car components, which contributed to a clean, interruption-free session.
Racing Bulls sporting director Alan Permane confirmed that Yuki Tsunoda missed running on the Soft tyre in FP1 after a power steering issue was identified on his car. The problem was diagnosed from data, the component was changed, and the car was ready for FP2. Despite the disruption, Permane said Tsunoda showed strong pace on the Medium tyre. “On the Medium tyre, he was actually even a little tiny bit, half a tenth, in front of Arvid,” Permane said, referring to teammate Arvid Lindblad. Both Racing Bulls drivers highlighted Turn 12 as a standout corner, though neither was able to take it flat during the session.
Krack addressed the future of Fernando Alonso, who publicly raised questions about his continued participation in the sport ahead of the weekend. The Aston Martin boss said the team has consistently communicated its desire to retain the two-time world champion but is allowing him time to reach a decision. “We need to respect the time he wants to take. We’re confident we can reach a good solution for everybody,” Krack said. FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem also weighed in on the matter, publicly stating the importance of Alonso remaining in Formula 1.
Krack acknowledged that Alonso’s retirement from the previous race, caused by kerb damage, raises questions heading into a circuit where barriers sit close to the racing line. “The walls are probably more concerning than the kerbs here, or the walls that come after the kerbs,” he said, adding that increased aggression from drivers as grip builds through the weekend is inevitable.
Budkowski, asked about comments from Sergio Perez that Cadillac had reached a development plateau, said the situation reflects the normal pattern of a Formula 1 season rather than a structural problem. “We’re in a phase of the season where we’re all working on next year’s car. We’ve switched the resources mostly to next year,” he said. He added that reliability issues had diverted engineering resources away from performance development, but expressed confidence that performance gains remain available through improved operational execution.