The key Madrid factor that could shake up Formula E

This weekend's inaugural Madrid E-Prix has the potential to shake up the Formula E season due to one key factor all the teams have been after.

Formula E's first competitive visit to the Circuito del Jarama – where pre-season testing was held in late 2024 ahead of Season 11 following flooding in Valencia – comes five weeks after the last round.

It has been a relentless start to the final season of the Gen3 era, with the São Paulo season-opener last December quickly followed by the festive shutdown for Christmas.

Into 2026, Formula E then had four races across a six-week period, with Mexico City, Miami and the double-header in Jeddah coming and going in rapid succession.

However, for the first time this year, the teams and drivers have had a chance to stop and breathe, having enjoyed a five-week gap between the races in Saudi Arabia and this weekend in Madrid.

As a result, it marks the first occasion this season for a thorough analysis of all the data gathered from the opening five races, offering time for lengthy debriefs, simulator sessions and, in the case of Citroën, developments to its package.

The French marque will not be alone in likely bringing software developments for Madrid, given the analysis that will have been conducted by all the teams since Jeddah in the middle of February to better understand how to extract performance.

Speaking a day after the Jeddah E-Prix and looking ahead to the break which is now about to end, Nick Cassidy highlighted the significance of the five-week pause, telling RacingNews365: "They're needed because I think it finally gives us a chance to go through all the data from these first few races, get a bit of time in the sim and do a bit of development, but really understand our package.

"Whereas after São Paulo, Mexico and even Miami, just due to the schedule, I haven't had the chance to be home or be with the team much.

"So, yeah, I'm looking forward to actually having this break and being able to analyse a few things, and spending a lot more time on the sim to prepare for the next ones, which is more like the kind of pre-season or post-Valencia routine that we had.

"So, yeah, a well-timed break, let's say."

A window of opportunity

Of course, the challenge of introducing software developments in Jarama is that it is not a traditional style of Formula E venue, at least not at the moment.

It is an incredible old-school circuit with major elevation changes and intriguing tarmac, different from most modern permanent circuits.

Jarama could not be more different from Berlin, Monaco and Sanya, the three rounds which follow the trip north of the Spanish capital.

Another lengthy six-week break follows this weekend's action before the Berlin double-header; however, Monaco quickly follows after that.

This turns Jarama into a window of opportunity to trial software adjustments, before teams then have six weeks to get its packages into the best possible position for the short European leg.

Asked if he expects some teams to make big steps in Madrid after having had a chance to analyse the data, Cassidy said: "I'm not sure if suddenly a lot better, but maybe increased competitiveness.

"I think Jarama's a different style of track again. So yeah, I remember from the pre-season test we did there that it's a super tough track with very different tarmac.

"So you're probably going to see maybe a few teams pop up or down just because of that as well. But yeah, it's going to be an interesting one, and a difficult one."