Coulthard calls for Madrid sprint race after Monaco joins 2027 F1 calendar

David Coulthard has called on Formula 1 to introduce a sprint race at Madrid’s Madring circuit, days after the sport confirmed Monaco will host its first-ever sprint weekend in 2027.

F1’s newly published 2027 calendar features 10 sprint races across Bahrain, Australia, Japan, Canada, Monaco, Great Britain, Italy, Brazil, Qatar and Abu Dhabi. Speaking on the Up To Speed podcast, Coulthard argued that Madrid — which held its debut Spanish Grand Prix on 13 September — deserves a place on that list.

“Monaco has been added as a sprint on a circuit where there’s very little overtaking. It will mean more entertainment,” Coulthard said. “So that probably would have been a good thing in Madrid if we had a sprint there as well.”

The Madring circuit replaced the long-established Barcelona-Catalunya venue as host of the Spanish Grand Prix under a 10-year contract, but its debut drew widespread criticism for a shortage of overtaking opportunities — a concern Coulthard believes a sprint format could help offset.

The race itself underlined those frustrations. McLaren’s Lando Norris claimed pole and built a commanding lead in the opening stint, only to lose it during an ill-timed virtual safety car period. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli seized the front and went on to claim his eighth win of the season.

Coulthard also used the podcast to reflect on how the modern, sprint-heavy calendar compares to his own era, when teams ran exhaustive private test programmes. “We were doing 100,000 kilometres in testing. We tested every week. We had a test team,” he recalled. “Day after day after day — it was exhausting. It was mentally tiring and there was no reward at the end of it other than job satisfaction.”

By contrast, he suggested the current race-dense schedule offers drivers a clearer sense of achievement. “A grand prix, you feel the achievement that the history books will show what you achieved as a team,” he added. “So I would have enjoyed it.”

Whether F1 will revisit the 2027 sprint schedule to accommodate Madrid remains to be seen, but Coulthard’s comments reflect a broader debate about how the series can extract maximum spectacle from street and purpose-built circuits that offer limited natural racing.