F1
Red Bull on Rails
All aboard as former F1 driver Patrick Friesacher takes a specially adapted, double-title-winning Red Bull Racing RB8 on a history-making ride through the Madrid Metro
From the high Himalayas to the shores of the Dead Sea, there aren’t many places Oracle Red Bull Racing hasn’t brought the thrill of Formula 1. Narrow, dimly lit subterranean tunnels, however, were always off limits. Until now.
To celebrate the return of the Spanish Grand Prix to Madrid after 45 years at the all-new Madring circuit, Oracle Red Bull Racing took one of its most iconic cars onto a very different kind of track, sending the double-title-winning RB8 onto the rails of the Madrid Metro.
The Madring will be easily accessible to fans via a new Metro station within the circuit complex, meaning thousands will travel underground to Madrid’s first Grand Prix since the 1981 race at the Circuito del Jarama. So, ahead of F1’s arrival, the Team decided to beat them to it.
Red Bull Racing takes the On Rails project to Madrid
© Alberto Nevado / Red Bull Content Pool
There was just one problem: how do you turn an F1 car into a train?
The unique engineering challenge was taken on by the Oracle Red Bull Racing Heritage Team and Spanish engineering and creative collective Andtonic, who began to tackle the thorny issue of how to convert an F1 car to run on rails, especially as neither the train tracks nor the title-winning RB8 could be reconfigured.
Thankfully, the width of the Metro rails proved a good match for the RB8’s track. The bigger challenge was creating bespoke metal wheels light enough to protect the car’s suspension, gearbox and driveshafts.
Early prototypes were far too heavy, threatening serious damage to the title-winning machine. The solution was a wheel featuring a central hub and precision-machined spokes, with every possible gram removed to keep the project on track.
Even then, the clock was ticking. With just two weeks to go, an intense design and manufacturing process remained at Metro de Madrid’s Canillejas workshops.
Red Bull Racing’s Patrick Friesacher emerges from Madrid tunnel
© Alberto Nevado / Red Bull Content Pool
At last, however, the wheels were completed and the RB8, with former F1 star Patrick Friesacher in the cockpit and on the wheels of steel, made Metro and motorsport history. During a short closure of the Metro network, Patrick powered past still sleepy-eyed commuters at stations including Estadio Metropolitano, as well as through the Sacedal and Chamartín depots.
With one epic journey through Madrid complete, the next begins in just a few days as Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar take on the challenge of the mighty new Madring for the first time at the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix.