Oracle Red Bull Racing has taken its RB8, the car that won back-to-back Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles in 2010 and 2011, onto the tracks of the Madrid Metro.
The engineering feat marks the return of the Spanish Grand Prix to Madrid after 45 years ahead of F1’s debut at the MADRING this weekend.
The stunt required a genuine engineering solution rather than a simple prop exercise.
An F1 car’s tyres are designed around grip generated through compound and downforce on tarmac, neither of which translates to steel rail, so the RB8 needed an entirely different wheel built from scratch to make the drive possible at all.
Former F1 driver Patrick Friesacher took the modified RB8 through a closed section of the Madrid Metro network, passing the station at Estadio Metropolitano and the Sacedal and Chamartin depots.
The drive marks the first time an F1 car has run on an underground rail network in this way.
“It was an unbelievable experience,£ said Friesacher.
“I’ve been lucky enough to experience a lot with our Heritage team, but driving an F1 car on railway tracks was surreal. It’s very cool to add Metro driver to the resume.”
Red Bull’s Heritage Team worked with Spanish engineering and creative collective Andtonic at the Canillejas workshops to design and manufacture bespoke metal wheels capable of running on rail.
Each wheel weighs 29.8kg, more than double the weight of a standard F1 wheel, reflecting the additional structural demands of running on a rigid steel surface rather than tarmac.
“The project had two big limitations,” explained Alvaro Rey, Chief Executive Officer at Antonic.
“The first was that we could not change the weight of the metro tracks, the second was that we could not modify the car because they are a handmade prototype.”
The stunt ties directly into MADRING’s own infrastructure ahead of this weekend’s race. The circuit will be served by a new Metro station built within the complex itself, meaning thousands of race-goers will travel underground to reach Madrid’s first Grand Prix since 1981.
The project was carried out in partnership with Metro de Madrid, running alongside Red Bull’s separate sponsorship relationship with MADRING.
The full engineering process behind the build, from initial wheel design through to the completed run, has been documented in a short film released alongside the stunt itself.
