The Madrid City Council acknowledged this Tuesday the difficulties it is facing in finding a private partner to invest in the celebration of F1 in the capital. This was stated by the Councilor for Economy of the City Council, Engracia Hidalgo, who is also vice-president of IFEMA.
“Once the IFEMA rights are obtained [para organizar el GP de Fórmula 1]”After analyzing and evaluating the different management formulas, it is true that we issued the management contract and, basically, due to the number of additional clauses that we put in place, we did not find the company that initially wanted the transfer of this risk,” said the mayor during a parliamentary debate promoted by the opposition Más Madrid.
“It has been confirmed that there are no qualified partners able to meet the strict requirements, so it has been decided to delimit the services necessary to host the Grand Prix,” he added during the debate. Although the result has not been conclusive so far, the mayor affirms that “this will generate a significant economic impact” and “it will be a profitable operation for IFEMA, since the facility will be active in a historically low period.”
This idea raised by the council clashes with the position of the Community. El País cites sources from the regional government chaired by Isabel Díaz Ayuso who affirm that the councilor is wrong.
Madrid will host the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix from 2026, with a contract that will last at least until 2035, on a circuit located near the Ifema exhibition center and 5.47 kilometers long. The city will thus host a Grand Prix again, 45 years after the El Jarama circuit was removed from the calendar.
“We did it through Ifema on the assumption that there would be no investment of public money.” This decision on the financing of the future Formula 1 Grand Prix, pronounced in December by the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, was ultimately not respected. The expenditure for the automobile event of the public-private entity that manages the main exhibition center in the capital will amount to 51 million euros once the tender for the management of the works on the ground is completed.
