Dull Madring racing debut gives worrying indication for F1 Spanish GP

Theophile Nael dominated the first race at the Madring, in a race that gave a worrying insight into what the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix could look like on Sunday. 

Formula 3 opened the action on Saturday in Madrid, with the first-ever race on F1's newest track. With onlookers hoping to get an impression of the chaos that could feature in Sunday's F1 Grand Prix, there was little to get the juices flowing.

As the race got underway, drivers took full advantage of the wide runoff areas in the first sector, with Turn 2 being cut entirely, before some then hopped across the roundabout that makes up turns 5 and 5a. 

In both instances, teams were quick to get on the radio and ensure that any positions gained were handed back, thus avoiding any potential interest from the stewards. 

Beyond those incidents, the start was surprisingly clean, with drivers quickly settling into a rhythm. 

A brief yellow flag on lap two for debris on the track caused some intrigue, but there was very little action beyond that point, with Nael able to cruise to a comfortable victory. 

Worryingly, there was very little overtaking action, with drivers averse to showing a nose to the inside of a corner. Beyond the race start, throughout the first 12 laps of the 16-lap duration, there was no overtaking move of any note. 

On lap 13, we finally got a move using DRS from Taito Kato on Tukka Tapponen into Turn 5. 

A key factor for F1 will be track limits, as violations lit up the timing screen throughout the sprint race, with drivers getting greedy across the painted kerbs on the inside of corners. 

It should be noted that F3 will also run the first of two feature races for the weekend later on Saturday, meaning that drivers may have been driving slightly within themselves in a bid to avoid damage before the later outing, where greater rewards are on offer.

Despite five red flags being shown across all categories on Friday, there was no such disruption in the sprint race, and beyond the lap two display, even yellow flags were kept behind the barriers. 

The dull race will be a concern to fans, given there were already fears that the Madring layout has few overtaking areas, and that the action could be lacking.