'It started as a joke, a fantasy' - F1 heads to football-obsessed Madrid

'It started as a joke, a fantasy' - F1 heads to football-obsessed Madrid. After F1's explosion in popularity away from its European heartland the sport is coming home. Why Madrid? Because it is beautiful… and has a very big expo centre on the outskirts. 45 year wait: F1 returns to Madrid You could never accuse Formula 1 of shirking a challenge. Who else would consider competing for the attention of a football-obsessed country, home to the World Cup winners, in a city