The TAG Heuer Spanish Grand Prix took place at the MADRING for the first time as world championship leader Kimi Antonelli extended his advantage with victory for the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team.
The first race at a new circuit presents a unique opportunity for partners to activation in a different location and within a fresh ecosystem.
This week on Activation Zone, Sector looks at those partners who have worked alongside MADRING to deliver its first Formula 1 grand prix.
Lagain Group
MADRING partnered with Lagain Group, a Spanish waste-management technology company, to put biodigestion technology directly into the operation of the circuit itself.
Rather than using the race as a platform to talk about sustainability, Lagain used it as a live demonstration of the technology in action.
On-site biodigesters processed food waste where it was generated across the circuit, converting it into clean greywater through aerobic digestion, alongside compostable bags for source separation.
The partnership also included measurement and monitoring of the waste processed throughout the weekend, integrated into MADRING’s wider waste-management model rather than sitting alongside it as a standalone initiative.
Atlético Madrid
Atlético Madrid signed a five-year Local Event Supporter agreement with MADRING, with the Riyadh Air Metropolitano becoming an official supporting venue for the weekend.
The stadium hosted the grand prix’s main concert, alongside fan experiences, hospitality and transport connections to the circuit itself.
The more interesting layer sits in retail – Atlético launched a dedicated MADRING x Atleti Racing merchandise collection, a genuinely new product line rather than a co-branded logo exercise, and is promoting it through its own Gran Vía and Metropolitano stores, as well as online.
It was not simply a football club lending its name to F1 for a weekend. It’s a football club commercialising the crossover between its own audience and Madrid’s new F1 event, extending the partnership well beyond the race itself.
Match Hospitality
La Azotea, a four-storey rooftop hospitality space overlooking La Monumental at Turn 12, brought together nine of Spain’s most acclaimed chefs and restaurants for MADRING’s debut weekend.
It included Mario Sandoval of Coque, Hugo Muñoz of Ugo Chan, and pastry names Jordi Roca and Oriol Balaguer, each presenting tasting-format versions of their signature dishes across the three days.
The venue sits within a much larger commercial relationship. Match Hospitality, exclusive hospitality provider for MADRING through 2035, has committed €400 million to developing premium VIP areas across the circuit’s lifespan, drawing on a track record that includes hospitality for the FIFA World Cups in Qatar and a partnership with Silverstone since 2019 that has tripled customer engagement for its premium packages.
For MADRING’s first race weekend, that meant treating gastronomy as a genuine pillar of the event rather than an afterthought to the racing, turning hospitality into a showcase for Madrid’s culinary identity as much as its new circuit.
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