F1: Madring track creator says changes by new designers affected overtaking at Spanish GP

Jarno Zaffelli, who created the original design but is no longer attached to the project, alleges his contract was improperly ended by organisers. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

The lead designer of the heavily criticised Madring circuit claims small post-exit modifications are responsible for the dull Spanish Grand Prix, adding there is “not much” that can feasibly be altered to the track layout in future.

Jarno Zaffelli told The Associated Press that relocated curbs, the selected tarmac and the latest F1 technical rules all played a part in the lack of action during Sunday’s race, which ended Madrid’s 45-year absence from the F1 calendar.

Just a few overtakes occurred in the event, with the eventual win claimed by Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli on the 5.4km (3.3-mile) hybrid street circuit combining existing roads with newly built sections. Drivers highlighted the “high adrenaline” nature of the venue but broadly slammed the shortage of passing chances.

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Zaffelli, who created the original design but is no longer attached to the project, alleges his contract was improperly ended by organisers last year and says security escorted him away when he arrived for the race weekend. Court proceedings on the matter still continue.

Tilke, the firm that later assumed control of the design, did not immediately respond to a comment request, as did Madring event officials.

Zaffelli maintained that while the overall plan stayed largely intact, minor construction-stage adjustments compromised the initial vision. He said intended refinements during the final phase were never executed.

He said, “if you start to change some inclinations, centimeters in the transitions, you change the kind of asphalt that you have, you change the position of some curbs,” then the intention of the original design is affected.

He argued that repositioned curbs and the removal of a gravel runoff at Turn 5 — earmarked as the main overtaking zone — made passing significantly more difficult.

“You change the curb and runoff in the only point that we thought it was possible to overtake in the beginning of the design, I cannot be responsible for the result,” Zaffelli said.

He also said a suggestion from Williams’ Spanish driver Carlos Sainz to tweak the corner’s radius was not adopted.

“That was one of the modifications that Carlos Sainz suggested and we were going to implement it in November 2025,” Zaffelli said. “The problem is … we were ousted in September, and eventually they just followed the design from the beginning without doing this subtle modification (in the construction phase).”

The drivers highlighted the “high adrenaline” nature of the venue but broadly slammed the shortage of passing chances. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Zaffelli said the asphalt selected by organisers compelled drivers to conserve tyres to avoid graining, undermining the racing the layout was meant to deliver.

He added that when he first conceived the circuit, the current F1 regulations mandating strict battery management were not yet in force, further reducing overtaking potential.

He cited the banked “La Monumental” bend, designed for full-throttle runs so cars could maximise speed onto the next straight and attempt a pass. Over the weekend, several drivers conceded they had to lift early in the corner to save energy for the remainder of the lap.

Zaffelli, whose credits include projects at Zandvoort, Spa-Francorchamps and Silverstone, said the first change he would implement if still involved would be to replace the surface with a “non-graining type.”

“I would just replace the asphalt fully, with the geometries of the asphalt that we were expecting, and the kind of asphalt that we were thinking for this layout,” he said.

Aside from that, he said substantial layout revisions were improbable unless construction limits and approval procedures were relaxed.

“The asphalt will be making a lot of difference already, and then some bits and pieces,” he said. “And we hope that next year they will have different conditions, the cars, the regulation will be different, and they will be able to push. To me, (there’s) not much that they can do.”

Organisers stated on Monday they were open to exploring improvements, with event director Luis García Abad telling Motorsport.com that the FIA had already indicated possible changes, though he offered no specifics.

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Zaffelli stressed he never worked with a “blank canvas” and faced multiple constraints, including planned future developments by organisers that influenced his design choices.

He said he was “so sorry” that “so many people are speaking out loud on this without knowing the background.”

“But fortunately, we know that it’s part of the game. We know that, until we were there, we did the maximum possible that we can achieve,” he said. “And this will be demonstrated by the fact that if they are modifying something, it will be very, very, very limited as a modification, because we know the reason behind the choices that we made, and that we had to make.”