One major schedule change coming in the 2026 season is the introduction of a new street circuit in Madrid and the removal of Imola from the calendar. 

The Madring has been a controversial addition to the calendar, as fans are upset for several reasons, including that it is another street track. Many fans don’t want to see more street circuits, as the racing there can be a little lackluster.

Street circuits don’t usually offer much room for overtaking, leading to little action on track and a relatively boring race. While not all street circuits are disliked, the fact that F1 is including more of them and getting rid of fan-favorite tracks is where the problem lies.

The Madrid Grand Prix is one of the street races that is replacing a fan favorite, the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix (Imola). Imola is a historic track that first held an F1 race in 1963 and officially counted towards the championship beginning in 1980. 

Imola is also home to a period of tragedy in F1. At the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix held at Imola, Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna both tragically lost their lives as a result of a crash at the Tamburello corner. In recent years, these drivers have been remembered and celebrated when F1 returns to Imola.

Racing at Imola is always high-stakes and engaging to watch, which is why fans were disappointed to learn that the Madring will replace it with their deal, which lasts through 2035.

Another concept to be introduced starting in 2027 is rotating tracks. The 2026 season will be the last time we see both Barcelona-Catalunya and Spa-Francorchamps on the calendar in the same season, as starting in 2027 they will rotate. 2027 and the odd years following until 2031 will have Spa on the calendar while the even years until 2032 will have Barcelona. 

The reason F1 is doing this is to introduce more circuits without exceeding 24 races in a season, which is the most ever. While fans understand their reasoning for doing so, they don’t like the circuits they are trying it with.

Barcelona and Spa are two historic and well-liked tracks. Fans are unhappy that F1 is rotating these tracks while adding more street tracks, like the Madring, to the calendar. An alternative option fans have proposed is to rotate the Miami and Las Vegas Grand Prixes, as they are both USA-based street circuits that weren’t particularly well-liked in the first place.

F1 is considering rotating more European tracks, which will never be well received, as many are fan favorites. The Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort is another track set to be removed from the calendar after 2026, making way for the Portuguese Grand Prix to return. These replacements or rotating tracks are unlikely to stop as F1 expands into markets in the Middle East and Africa, but that doesn’t mean fans will like it.