Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is one of the newest night races on the Formula 1 calendar. F1 visited Jeddah for the first time during the 2021 season but a new track is expected in 2027.

Plans for Formula 1 to race in Saudi Arabia first became public in August 2019 as the Middle Eastern Kingdom sought to design a circuit in Qiddiya. But the honour of hosting the nation’s debut F1 race went to Jeddah in 2021. It was initially planned to host the race for two years.

F1 agreed to a 10-year contract worth £42m-a-year with Saudi Arabia to hold a Grand Prix in the country. The Saudi state is also among Formula 1’s biggest forms of income with Aramco – of which it owns 95% – currently paying the series £378m over 10 years as a title sponsor.

History of the F1 Saudi Arabian GP

Saudi Arabia secured its spot on the Formula 1 calendar for the 2021 season onwards with a plan to host the event in Qiddiya. But the country’s ambitions to design a world-class circuit at the entertainment project were not ready in time. So, it created a street circuit in Jeddah.

Originally, F1 and Saudi Arabia planned for the super-quick, wall-lined circuit on the coast of the Red Sea to host a Grand Prix for two years. But the organisers for the event conceded in January 2023 that the Qiddiya track just outside Riyadh would likely not be ready until 2027.

The Jeddah Corniche Circuit, therefore, has remained the home of the Saudi Arabian GP for longer than intended. Organisers of the race have also adapted the semi-permanent venue since F1’s first visit. The layout of the track had raised concerns about its safety and visibility.

As well as it being a street track, the Jeddah Corniche Circuit is one of the fastest venues on the F1 calendar. Drivers can hit speeds of nearly 200mph as they thread their cars between the walls. But the walls originally blocked a driver’s line of sight through some of the bends.

Saudi Arabia has eyes on hosting two F1 races each year

The organisers tweaked parts of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit for the 2023 Saudi Arabian GP to remove the ‘blind fear’, as Logan Sargeant described it. They pushed a selection of the walls around the track back whilst also widening parts of the circuit and changing the kerbs.

“Visually, being much more open, it takes away a bit of that blind fear feeling of not knowing what’s around the corner,” Sargeant told Autosport in March 2023. “They’ve elevated the back side of the exit kerbs to ultimately stop [cars] bottoming. So, I think all that is positive.”

Plans to move the Grand Prix to a circuit in Qiddiya remain a target for Saudi Arabia, though. But Saudi Arabia’s minister for sport, HRH Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al-Faisal, has also outlined the state’s desires to potentially have both venues host F1 races – possibly alternating each year.

Prince Abdulaziz told Motorsport.com in October 2022: “We won’t say no. We really see the benefits of having these events for the Kingdom and that’s why we’re investing so much.

“We definitely could host two races already. But I think that’s something that we have to discuss with F1 and see how it goes. But we definitely would love to have that.”

Human rights groups have condemned the Saudi Arabian GP

While the Saudi Arabian GP has been a success for the Kingdom, some human rights groups have condemned the event. Human Rights Watch described the race as a blatant attempt to sportswash what Amnesty International branded the nation’s ‘heinous’ human rights record.

Human Rights Watch’s director overseeing sport, Minky Worden, said in November 2020 of F1 having a Saudi Arabian GP, via The Guardian: “Sporting bodies like Formula One and the FIA cannot ignore the fact they and fans are being used for sportswashing.

“It is part of a cynical strategy to distract from Saudi Arabia’s human rights abuses, detention and torture of human rights defenders and women’s rights activists.”

The human rights group, Reprieve, also urged F1 to axe the Saudi Arabian GP in March 2022 over the nation’s sportswashing bid, per The Guardian. It came after the family of a teenager the state had sentenced to death wrote to Lewis Hamilton pleading with him to speak out.

Further controversy then ensued at the 2022 Saudi Arabian GP when a missile struck near the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. BBC Sport noted in March 2022 that the drivers spent hours in urgent discussions over racing that weekend after the incident had occurred during practice.

What is the Jeddah Corniche Circuit like?

The Jeddah Corniche Circuit which hosts the F1 Saudi Arabian GP is a semi-permanent track on the coast of the Red Sea. It was initially designed to hold the event for two years before a move to Qiddiya. But it has hosted other series including the WTCR and GT World Challenge.

It is an FIA Grade 1 track designed by Carsten Tilke, the son of the renowned circuit designer Hermann Tilke. The venue is also 6.1km (3.8m) long in its current Grand Prix format with 27 turns. It has 15 left-handed corners and 12 right-handed bends beside views of the Red Sea.

Yet the Jeddah Corniche Circuit’s sweeping design means F1 drivers need to brake just eight times per lap. They are also only on the brakes for around 11 seconds per lap, around 13% of their overall lap time. Additionally, just eight of the braking zones require substantial braking.

Winners of the F1 Saudi Arabian GP