Formula 1 will have an early Christmas present for fans of the sport in Madrid.
This year, speculation has ramped up to fever pitch about a likely new street race in the Spanish capital - including news that F1 has registered the ’Formula 1 Madrid Grand Prix’ trademarks.
It is believed F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and his MotoGP counterpart Carmelo Ezpeleta are even working on a plan to host both two and four-wheeled events on the same weekend.
And the Spanish digital newspaper Ok Diario now claims that Formula 1 is ready to make an announcement this week about the first Madrid GP in 2026.
The report said the street layout will centre around the Ifema venue, located not far from the Ciudad Ral Madrid - the football club’s training complex in Valdebebas, near Barajas airport.
The new Madrid GP would - at least initially - apparently complement rather than replace the existing Spanish GP, held annually at the Circuit de Catalunya and with a contract through 2026 inclusively.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem confirmed recently that a race may be on the cards.
"It is a matter of meeting around a table and negotiating what is best for Formula 1, also on the commercial side," he said.
"Can Spain have two races? I think so. We have to study the commercial part, but I am sure that Formula 1 will be doing that. And then it will work very well."