Which role will Formula 3 play ahead of Madring's F1 debut in September?

The FIA Formula 3 Championship will play a key role in preparing Madrid's brand-new MADRING circuit for its Formula 1 debut, with the series set to conduct a two-day official in-season test on 24-25 August.

Held just two weeks before the inaugural Formula 1 TAG HEUER Gran Premio de España 2026 on 11-13 September, the test will provide teams, drivers and officials with their first competitive running at the new venue.

Beyond offering valuable preparation for the championship's season finale, the event will also serve as an important validation of the circuit's sporting, operational and safety procedures under real racing conditions.

In addition to the August test, Formula 3 has confirmed a unique format for its 2026 season finale at MADRING. Following the cancellation of the Bahrain race weekend earlier this year, the championship has introduced an expanded schedule to restore the number of competitive events originally planned for the season.

The Madrid finale will feature two qualifying sessions and, for the first time this season, two Feature Races, giving drivers an extra opportunity to score valuable championship points during the title-deciding weekend.

The revised schedule will be as follows:

Friday morning: 45-minute Free Practice
Friday afternoon: Two consecutive 20-minute Qualifying sessions
Saturday morning: Sprint Race, with the reverse-grid determined by the results of the first Qualifying session
Saturday afternoon: First Feature Race, using the grid from the first Qualifying session
Sunday morning: Second Feature Race, with the starting order set by the second Qualifying session

Each Qualifying session will award two points for pole position, while both Feature Races will offer the standard FIA Formula 3 championship points allocation.

Valuable preparation before Formula 1 arrives
Formula 3 CEO Bruno Michel welcomed the opportunity to both evaluate the new circuit and create an enhanced championship finale.

"I'm very pleased to announce this F3 test session at the MADRING. It will be two very valuable days of testing for our teams and drivers to appraise this new challenge before the crucial final round of the 2026 season, which will be held at this new venue.

"This season will have a pretty unique conclusion with an enhanced finale, which will provide the teams and the drivers with an additional opportunity to score points, following the loss of the race weekend at Bahrain earlier this year."

Luis García Abad, Director of the Formula 1 TAG HEUER Gran Premio de España 2026, emphasized that the August test is a crucial milestone in preparing Madrid's newest circuit for its first Formula 1 event.

"From the very beginning, we were clear that we wanted to arrive at the Grand Prix with a fully validated and tested circuit. In a completely new project such as MADRING, it was essential to check, under real competition conditions, that all elements related to safety, operations and the sporting delivery of the event would work exactly as we had planned."

He also praised the cooperation between Formula 3 and the Spanish Grand Prix organizers: "From our very first conversations with Bruno Michel, we found Formula 3 to be completely willing to make these test days possible.

"Their collaboration has been outstanding and allows us to fulfil a dual objective: to carry out all the necessary checks before the Grand Prix makes its debut and, at the same time, to add major sporting appeal by incorporating an additional championship race whose outcome will be decided in Madrid."