Hotels and restaurants fear loss of Formula 1 championship in Circuit de Catalunya racetrack

Owners and those responsible for hotels and restaurants in the Vallès Oriental county fear the loss of the Formula 1 championship in the Circuit de Catalunya racetrack.

In January 2024, the Madrid regional government and its city council reached a deal with F1 managers to organize the Spanish Grand Prix championship in Ifema exhibition halls, an urban racetrack, between 2026 and 2035. 

This means that the future of F1 in Catalonia is unknown as the contract ends in 2026, and so far, no public agreement has been made for the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya racetrack to continue hosting such an event.

The hotel guild in the Vallès Oriental county, home of the racetrack, highlights that the F1 and Moto GP championships have "a huge economic impact" on the area. And if these races were to leave the racetrack, "it would be a massacre," David Vázquez, the president of the guild, told the Catalan News Agency (ACN).

"There are a lot of hotels that can register losses of up to 60% if the Formula 1 leaves the Circuit de Catalunya," he added.

Many politicians, and even part of the residents in other sites, "are not well aware" of the huge economic impact of the F1 championship on the Vallès Oriental county. In 2022, organizers said that the direct impact during the weekend was €160 million, a figure that increases if they add up the indirect payments, such as the previous weekend.

"People are not aware, as this competition is not about posh people or not. The racetrack has a direct impact on waiters, hostesses, restaurants, and large and small stores, among many other benefits from the economic impact," Vázquez said.

"There are many things related to the F1 championship that have a lot of relevance, such as the winter tests, the previous days ahead of the race itself… People come and can spend around a week. With Formula 1 it is not only about a weekend of two-three days. It is more, as many teams land here a week before," Vázquez added.

Formula 1 attendees also have "a large economic backbone, which is what really benefits the Vallès Oriental area," Vázquez said.

Moto GP or F1

"Moto GP championships have a large attendance from Spain and France, but what Formula 1 achieves is incredible," David Vázquez told ACN.

Their reports show that the F1 is able to book hundreds of hotels and restaurants in the Vallès Oriental and Barcelona city areas. 

"If F1 leaves, many of these establishments will disappear."

One reason the event could only happen in Madrid is that "most of the politicians have not taken into account the potential of the Circuit de Catalunya, nor have tried to make it more appealing," Vázquez said.

For him, "it was impossible to compete against other worldwide cities, such as Las Vegas," but considers that Montmeló has many interesting spots, but "there had been the opportunity to transform the racetrack into an experience, although no one has bet on it," he said.

David Vázquez personally considers that the deal with Madrid would be the end of the F1 championship in Catalonia.

"Hopefully, there is room to rectify, but taking into account the management of the last years and the lack of knowledge on what the F1 represents, I doubt a lot that the competition will continue here," he concluded.

To read more about the future of the Circuit de Catalunya, listen to this episode of our podcast Filling the Sink.