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As Formula 1 continues to see the commercial value in city-circuit races, the hospitality options need to keep up. With the race in Madrid being the first race at the new MADRING, there were many unique opportunities for partners to activate within a brand-new commercial and partner ecosystem.
In Madrid, demand produced a waiting list, according to CincoDías.
Club 91 was Madrid’s most in-demand hospitality package. And It was also the most expensive product in MADRING’s new hospitality program.
A three-day pass launched at approximately $7,000 (€5,989.50 including VAT), placing 2,500 guests above the start-finish straight, garages, and Turn 1. Six Michelin-starred chefs were attached to the dining program.
After watching this video by Stephanie V. of The Grand Prix Life, I decided to dig deeper into Madrid’s hospitality offerings.
MADRING expects to offer around 20,000 hospitality and VIP seats. Formula 1’s original plan projected daily capacity above 110,000, with an eventual target of 140,000.
Organizers reported that over 353,000 turned out to watch the first edition of the city circuit.
A Race with Many Products
MADRING’s hospitality site presents each package with its own “personality, atmosphere, and distinctive dining and entertainment style.” It even includes a quiz to match buyers with a product.
La Azotea occupies four levels at the circuit’s banked Turn 12. Restaurants, chef stations and panoramic terraces lead into DJs and a rooftop after-party. El Mirador uses the same section of the track for a beach-club and festival concept, complete with a pool, loungers, food pop-ups and a main stage.
La Terminal takes over a hangar near Turns 18 and 19. Its Spanish mercado, food trucks, arcade games, simulators and exhibitions make it the broadest family product. Traction Club has the tone of an old Madrid members’ club, with live jazz, chef stations and a smaller hospitality grandstand at the exit of Turn 18.
Ignition Club emphasizes the racing. Club 91 combines the best sightline with premium dining and rooftop parties. Traction Suites serve private groups of up to 40 guests. MADRING’s current sales materials list additional configurations across the program.
Those names help the sales team sort different guest lists. A company can choose a setting for entertaining customers, rewarding employees, hosting creators, or conducting senior-level business. An individual buyer can select the room that resembles the weekend they already want.
MATCH can sell to more buyers while keeping the price ladder intact. Club 91 sits at the top. La Terminal launched at approximately $2,320 (€1,996.50 including VAT), giving MATCH room to sell several definitions of premium between those points.
The first buyers came from both sides of the market. AS reported figures supplied by MATCH showing a 54 percent individual and 46 percent corporate split. Two Spanish reports placed domestic buyers at 69-72 percent, suggesting roughly seven in ten packages went to Spaniards.
The Silverstone Playbook
Madrid’s model has a clear predecessor.
MATCH has managed all hospitality at Silverstone since 2019. In announcing the Madrid agreement, IFEMA said Silverstone’s hospitality customer count had tripled during that period.
That growth sits inside Silverstone’s wider commercial recovery, which turned the British Grand Prix into a broader portfolio of hospitality, concerts and year-round assets.
The 2026 British Grand Prix offered ten hospitality experiences, ranging from the motorsport-heavy Ignition Club to the party-led Octane Terrace and the more traditional Heritage Club. Silverstone describes its range as spanning a relaxed festival atmosphere through fine dining. Octane Terrace paired Michelin-led street food with a DJ set from Jax Jones and a post-race party.
The overlap with Madrid is direct. Ignition Club keeps its name. La Azotea and El Mirador translate the Octane formula for Madrid. Traction Club gives the historic end of Silverstone’s portfolio a local private-club accent. La Terminal extends the idea toward families and gaming.
MATCH has taken a system that grew inside an established race and installed it at a new circuit from the beginning.
The commercial structure gives the company time to refine it. Its exclusive agreement with IFEMA Madrid covers 2026 through 2035 and includes a $465 million (€400 million) commitment for construction, assembly, operation and commercialization.
Formula 1 generally controls the Paddock Club at most races. Promoters keep the revenue from their own secondary hospitality products, part of the race economics that sit outside the sanctioning fee. Madrid’s program sits in that promoter-controlled category and operates separately from the Paddock Club.
Liberty Media has also made premium experiences part of Formula 1’s growth plan. Its 2025 annual report cited higher Paddock Club attendance and other premium offerings as contributors to hospitality growth. Las Vegas now sells products ranging from Club Paris to a Rat Pack-themed Skybox, while F1 Experiences offers House 44, a Lewis Hamilton and Soho House concept at the Paddock Club.
Madrid enters an established Formula 1 category with a large portfolio built around different uses from launch.
The Ten-Year Test Begins on Site
Opening-weekend sales were strong at the top. Club 91 sold out with a waiting list. La Azotea sold out for the weekend, with Friday access still available shortly before the race. AS reported that private boxes and Traction Suites also sold out.
El Mirador still had inventory at approximately $3,515 (€3,025 including VAT). The remaining stock shows why a large portfolio needs clear differences and precise selling. A buyer choosing among ten-plus premium areas needs to understand the crowd, pace, sound, food, and purpose of each.
Now MATCH has to make those names useful on site.
Before the race, official product pages disclosed that their visuals were representative and included photography from other MATCH events, stock images and AI-generated scenes. The promise came before the physical experience. Food, shade, service, transport, wayfinding and sightlines now have to support several concepts at once.
MATCH needs these buyers again in 2027. Opening-weekend sellouts demonstrate scarcity and curiosity. Renewals will measure the food, service, transport and atmosphere guests received.
Business of Speed covers the business, technology, and lifestyle of racing: Formula 1, IndyCar, IMSA, WEC, NASCAR, and more. From Vincenzo Landino, entrepreneur and creator, featured in Bloomberg, TBPN, Yahoo! Finance, Forbes, Adweek, and Front Office Sports. You can find us on Instagram, Substack, and LinkedIn.