From September 11 to 13, the Spanish Grand Prix will be held in Madrid, but the engines of the single-seaters have already roared at the Madring circuit, located in the vicinity of Ifema, in the Hortaleza district. They did so during the official tests of the FIA Formula 3 Championship, held on Monday and Tuesday. The first test of the 5.4-kilometer track was used by the Stop Formula 1 Madrid platform to measure noise levels in the neighborhoods surrounding the circuit. The average of the readings was 105 decibels, well above the 35 set by the legal limit in Madrid. The platform’s spokesperson, Constantino Blanco, denounces that “the neighborhood is stressed” after more than a year of fighting against an already inevitable event.
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With a sound level meter in hand, the platform members positioned themselves at a point on Camino Alto de Hortaleza to measure noise levels during the F3 tests. The peaks reached were 107.7 decibels. This is a value three times higher than the legal limit in a residential area. “These are non-certified measurements because we will take the certified ones on the 11th, 12th, and 13th. With those certified data, we will file lawsuits,” anticipates Constantino Blanco, spokesperson for the Stop Formula 1 Madrid platform, a collective formed by residents of affected neighborhoods such as Canillas, Villa Rosa, Las Cárcavas, Vadebebas, and San Lorenzo.
Blanco says they have been unheard for over a year. He also recalls that warnings about the impact a circuit embedded between the neighborhoods of Hortaleza would have were on the table even before construction began. “It all starts on January 31, 2025, with a report from the Community of Madrid stating that Formula 1 is incompatible and to make it compatible, relocating the residents of the neighborhood would have to be considered,” he says. In the report to which this resident of the Las Cárcavas neighborhood refers, both regional and municipal technicians agreed that holding F1 would involve exceeding the noise levels permitted by the capital’s regulations during the practice and race days, affecting the residents closest to the track.
Construction began in the spring of 2025 and, according to residents’ complaints, they have endured muddy conditions during the rainy season, dust storms, and the frustration of being “trapped” in a neighborhood where they also lack public transport due to cuts. “The reality is that we cannot leave the neighborhood because it is cordoned off, but now they are expelling us from our homes. We cannot rest. We cannot work because there is no way to concentrate and telework,” Blanco laments. From the La Expansión San Lorenzo Neighborhood Association, its spokesperson adheres to the position of the Stop Formula 1 platform, of which they are a part, and notes that they are strongly opposed to holding the Grand Prix in an urban area.
The delegate for Urban Planning, Mobility and Environment of the Madrid City Council, Borja Carabante, has assured that the Madring circuit will have acoustic screens, natural barriers and other corrective measures to reduce the disturbances caused by noise during the F1 Grand Prix. Previously, the delegate had explained that the F3 single-seaters that drove around the circuit on Monday and Tuesday make more noise than F1 cars, so he tried to calm things down ahead of the September event. Carabante has assured that the necessary measures will be established to mitigate the noise produced during the Spanish Grand Prix weekend. “On the 13th, there will be less noise for residents than what was produced during the tests. There is no doubt about that,” he stated.
However, what the delegate said has not convinced Blanco. “F1 makes less noise, but 20 cars make more noise than four. That day there will be an F1 race, an F2 race, and also an F3 race. It’s a lie that there will be less noise that day,” responds the spokesperson for the Stop Formula 1 Madrid platform. The Spanish Grand Prix program, published on the event’s website, makes clear the intensity of the three days of competition: practice sessions, qualifying rounds, and three races for September 13: F3, F2, and F1.
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