Before the first lap
From licensing and mobility to compliance and race week operations, the legal work behind Formula 1’s return to Madrid described by the project’s director of legal, Joaquim Hernández Tornil
by flavio caci
The last time a Formula 1 Grand Prix was held in Madrid was in 1981, at the Jarama circuit—French driver Jacques Laffite took the checkered flag first. In September 2026, today’s Formula 1 drivers, including the Spanish Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso, will return to the capital for a renewed edition of the Spanish Grand Prix, organised by the Fair Institution of Madrid (IFEMA).
Indeed, after a project that lasted two years, from the initial concept to final approval, the circuit, named Madring, became, last June, an official race on the championship calendar and is set to host the event for at least the next ten years. It runs around the IFEMA headquarters and reaches the Valdebebas area, combining both private and public sections over 5.4 kilometres.
Joaquim Hernández Tornil is the director of legal for the Madring project. Since April 2025, when he joined IFEMA to work specifically on the project, he managed the legal structuring of Madrid’s Formula 1 Grand Prix as the circuit and the event framework have taken shape. He spoke to Iberian Lawyer about the full legal trajectory, from its earliest stages to race day.
ENTERING F1
“In F1”, Hernández Tornil explains, “the legal function operates within a contractual framework stemming from a UK base”. Formula One Group, the company which holds commercial rights to the championship, is headquartered in London, yet the racing calendar spans twenty-one countries across five continents. This means that each Grand Prix must also comply with the laws and procedures of its host country. In Madrid, that has meant adapting the Championship’s global standards to the Spanish legal and administrative system. A base agreement signed with Formula 1 at the end of 2023 —managed by IFEMA’s legal team under the leadership of general secretary Juan Saavedra — laid the legal foundations for the project.
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