Banco Santander celebrates 20 years in F1 at the iconic corner of Madring

While Briton Lando Norris’ victory in the 2025 F1 World Drivers Championship is still resonating, teams and fans around the world are already thinking about the next World Cup. In particular, the thousands of Spanish fans of the Grand Circus are looking forward to the start of the World Cup, when Spain will again have two races. And the brand new MADRING is a test that will put Madrid at the center of the world sports panorama on the weekend of September 13th next year.

Talking about MADRING means talking about Banco Santander. And the Spanish organization, which will soon be celebrating 20 years of association with the F1 World Championship, will sponsor the Madrid event. It will be a special spectacle that will make one of the most-watched sports in the world even bigger, with a total annual audience of more than 1.35 billion, according to viewership measurement agency Nielsen. It’s important to remember that 60% of this audience is seen in Santander’s key markets, with growing reach among younger viewers in the US and around the world.

Construction work on Madring, a semi-urban circuit that runs around the IFEMA Madrid Exhibition Center and the adjacent area of ​​Valdebebas, is progressing well and is expected to be completed in time for the Grand Prix celebrations, which will be on the international F1 calendar for at least a decade.

One of the most iconic attractions on the new route, which is 5,474 meters long and can accommodate 110,000 spectators, is undoubtedly the banked curve called La Monumental, which is sponsored by Banco Santander. More than 45,000 spectators will enjoy watching the World Championship drivers drive right in front of their eyes for an incredibly exciting six seconds on each of the 57 laps that will make up the highly anticipated race on September 13th.

With the brand-new Spanish Grand Prix in the spotlight, Banco Santander extends its fruitful sponsorship relationship with F1 by signing a four-year agreement to become its official sponsor. retail banking It begins in the impending year 2026.

This is the next step in a love story that began in 2006, when Banco Santander sponsored Fernando Alonso’s F1 debut during his time at McLaren. Along with the Asturian champion, the Spaniard formed an alliance with Italy’s Ferrari, the most legendary team in the history of the World Automobile Championship, a relationship that lasted until Madrid-born Carlos Sainz took the wheel of the team. rampaging horse.

The new route will have a total length of 5,474 meters and a capacity of 110,000 people.

This sponsorship relationship between Banco Santander and Sainz continues today, with the Spanish driver occupying one of two seats in the Williams team, another of the most legendary teams on the F1 grid. In his first season driving the British brand’s car, Carlos Sainz finished ninth in the Drivers’ World Championship, with two third places.

All this comes in the context of Banco Santander being already the sponsor and official bank of F1, an arrangement that will translate into a huge promotional screen for the company in 2025, with its logo appearing on billboards at Grand Prix circuits in Santander’s main markets, including the US, Brazil, Mexico, Spain and the UK.

Additionally, during the now concluded season, Santander Bank doubled its promotional efforts at the three Grand Prix in the US: Miami, Austin and Las Vegas, capitalizing on the US launch of OpenBank, Europe’s largest 100% digital bank by deposit volume.