This Wednesday, the Business Minister, Roger Torrent, was “very optimistic” regarding the negotiations he is maintaining with the Formula 1 organization to renew the contract with the Montmeló circuit and continue hosting grand prix beyond 2026, when the current one expires.
“I am convinced that there will be a renewal of the contract. We have an excellent relationship with Formula 1 and we are working on that basis,” Torrent assured, in statements to RAC1.
Following the announcement yesterday that Madrid will organize the Spanish Grand Prix between 2026 and 2035, the minister has also confirmed that in 2026 there will be two grand prix in Spain, in Barcelona and Madrid. “We will have two fantastic Grands Prix. The best in history,” he said.
Regarding the name of the race held in Montmeló that year, given that the one in Madrid will be the “Spanish Grand Prix”, he pointed out that “for us the name is not important” and that “there is time to think about it.”
In relation to the new renewal contract, the head of the Department of Business and Employment has indicated that they are negotiating that it could also be for ten years, the same as those agreed with Madrid, after admitting that “for us, the longer the better.” .
Asked if Madrid is hindering the renewal of Formula 1 with the Montmeló circuit, Torrent said that “there is a lot of pressure in general and a lot of competitiveness”, given that many cities in the world want to have a Grand Prix, and has assured that the “Formula 1 is comfortable with us and we don’t pay attention to others.”
Regarding whether the Generalitat can match the figures that Madrid will pay to F1 for the celebration of its Grand Prix, it has indicated that they do not value the contracts of other grand prix promoters, which are also subject to confidentiality clauses: “We know where we are. and where we can go.”
Torrent has stressed that F1 values ??the experience of 33 years celebrating grand prixes at the Montmeló circuit and the development of a new strategic plan.
“We are modernizing the facilities, the infrastructure, which was already needed,” and “we are turning it into the best stable circuit in Europe and probably in the world,” the business councilor emphasized.
