The big bet on Formula 1 in Madrid has not had the same support in front of the television. The broadcast of the Spanish Grand Prix on Telecinco registered a 7.1% audience share, a result that contrasts with the 17.2% achieved by La Vuelta cycling race on La 1 of TVE during a similar time slot.

The data represents another setback for Telecinco, whose average audience during Saturday's day was 6.6%. The difference highlights the unequal television follow-up of two of the major sporting events broadcast that day.

Formula 1 is also one of the big bets linked to the sports project of the Community of Madrid and its president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, who has publicly defended the arrival of the Grand Prix in the capital. The Madrid president even questioned the coverage provided by public television. "The coverage that public television (TVE) is doing of the Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix is shameful," Díaz Ayuso wrote on her personal X account.

Ayuso, present at the Formula 1 premiere in Madrid

The president of the Community of Madrid was last Saturday at the MADRING circuit, during the qualifying day of the Spanish Grand Prix, which is held for the first time this weekend in the capital.

Upon her arrival at the circuit, Díaz Ayuso toured the track aboard the Safety Car and then visited the garage, where she met with Carlos Sainz, a Madrid driver and ambassador of the Madrid circuit, as well as with members of his team. The president also toured the circuit stands during a day marked by anticipation for Madrid's debut as host of the Grand Prix.

However, the television impact of the competition did not live up to the expectations generated around this new Formula 1 event. With a 7.1% share on Telecinco, the race was far from La Vuelta's 17.2% on La 1, which achieved more than double the audience share.