Madrid’s entry to the Formula 1 and Formula 2 calendars next year puts Barcelona’s place on both at risk, with the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya’s current F1 contract expiring in 2026. Feeder Series spoke to drivers about what could be the last F2 race on the track.
By Calla Kra-Caskey
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has been an F2 mainstay since the series’ inception, hosting a race every year except 2021, when the F2 and F3 calendars were split. The track has also regularly hosted pre- and in-season testing.
But with no contract beyond 2026 and Madrid already confirmed to host F2 and F3 next year, Barcelona’s status as an F2 staple is at risk.
“It is what it is,” championship leader Luke Browning told Feeder Series. “Obviously Barcelona has been a staple on the calendar for many years. I’ve done a lot of laps here. I think everyone on the grid has.”
Browning has found mixed success in his prior visits to Barcelona, both in F3. In 2023, he took his first F3 podium in the sprint race but retired in the feature race, and in 2024, he finished 12th in the sprint and fifth in the feature. This year, he’ll look to add to his current season tally of five podiums, which already surpasses his career F3 total of four.
Looking to the future, Browning is open to a change of scenery.
“It’s exciting. I’ve never raced in Madrid, but I like the location. And yeah, who’s to tell what the track’s going to be like,” he said.
Browning added that he thought the street circuit was ‘more likely to replace Imola than Barcelona’. F1’s contract with the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari – which hosted F2 from 2022 to 2025 – expires at the end of this year.
Hitech’s Luke Browning during F2 pre-season testing in Barcelona this year | Credit: Dutch Photo Agency
“The outcome which I would like the most is to race in both. Obviously for that, you need to be in F1 at the moment,” said Pepe Martí, racing in his second year of F2. Martí hails from Barcelona and competes for Campos, F2’s only Spanish team. Campos’ team principal, Adrián Campos, recently told Feeder Series that he’d also love to race in both cities.
Martí finished 11th and ninth in last year’s F2 sprint and feature races at Barcelona respectively. Prior to that, he won the Barcelona feature race in F3 in 2023.
Martí has plenty of experience racing across Spain from his Spanish F4 campaign in 2021, although that series did not race in Madrid when he competed. F1’s expansion to the city will take place on a newly designed street track.
“I’ve always mentioned how I envy MotoGP for having four grands prix in Spain. They have Aragon, Valencia, Jerez and Barcelona, so obviously that’s amazing for them and the Spanish fans. And I’ve always said that I’d love for the same to be done with Formula 1.”
Martí recognized that such a scenario is unlikely given the different fan bases and the number of countries vying for F1 races. Ultimately, he’s excited to see Madrid on the F1 calendar.
“It’s a fantastic location. It’s a great city and obviously the capital of Spain,” he added. “It makes complete sense to me that they have a race as well.”
Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency
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