Although it was not explicit, the executives of Liberty Media, the holder of the exploitation rights of the Formula 1 World Championship, warned of the danger that the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya was running of losing the event that hosted the Spanish Grand Prix of uninterrupted since 1991. The presentation of the race that will be held in Madrid starting in 2026, the date on which the current contract between Montmeló and F1 expires, and Liberty’s preference for the same country to only organize one event on the calendar, They put on alert all the actors who are gearing up to celebrate the event on the Barcelona track. The change of government in Barcelona City Council, with the departure of Ada Colau and the entry of Jaume Collboni, marked a change in the script and, above all, in the predisposition and efforts made to maintain an event that not only projects the image of the city abroad, but also leaves an economic footprint that exceeds 200 million euros.
Two years ago, in response to the noise that the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, made whenever she could, the managers of Montmeló announced an investment plan to rejuvenate a facility that had become obsolete, with the aim of making evident the interest in maintaining the test. The injection, with a final delivery date in 2026—precisely when the current agreement with F1 expires—was quantified at more than 50 million euros, and more than 31 of them have already taken shape in the last two years. Apart from convincing Liberty, this rethinking and the works that derive from it aim to increase the offer offered by the circuit at all levels, with F1 as the main engine, given that it generates more than 60% of the annual economic activity of the circuit. plotted.
“We were asked for Barcelona’s involvement to grow, and it has been achieved. “We were asked to do things, and we have done them,” declared these days, José Luis Santamaría, the director of the circuit, on the occasion of the exhibition that last Wednesday led Carlos Sainz and his Ferrari to skid along the Passeig de Gràcia. . “The Administration, the City Council, the Police, the Urban Guard and the Mossos have worked together to be able to bring F1 to the city,” added Santamaría, who this Thursday inaugurated the mammoth tower that Montmeló now presides over, in the style of the one , for example, was built in Austin (Texas).
It is a building weighing more than 600 tons that has been baptized as Rooftop, which has cost six million euros, and that offers countless restaurant possibilities, in addition to different VIP rooms, ranging from 3,000 euros per person to 40,000 euros, depending on the exclusivity and the catering option chosen. The walkway to the Rooftop crosses the back straight, so that the luckiest fans or those who dig deeper into their pockets will have a direct view of turn 10, the most characteristic of Montmeló, in the stadium area. Apart from this highly visible architectural element, 1,239 solar panels have also been installed on the roof of the main stand, which generate 33% of the energy consumed by the venue and making it the largest public self-consumption in Catalonia.
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