🇸🇦 Grand Prix SAUDI ARABIA

When was the track built?
The Jeddah Corniche Circuit is, you won’t be surprised to hear, a temporary street circuit (albeit adorned with some permanent sections), located on the Corniche – a 30km coastal resort area of the ancient Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah. Designed by the Tilke company, in conjunction with Formula 1’s own Motorsports team – who used Google Earth for their initial investigations into potential layouts – F1’s Ross Brawn said of the track: “What we want to see is a race circuit. We don’t want Mickey Mouse circuits. We don’t want those old classic street circuits with 90 degree turns. We want fast sweeping circuits, circuits which are going to challenge the drivers – and they are going to love it.”

When was its first Grand Prix?
The inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix took place in 2021, the race joining its Middle Eastern counterparts in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi – while like those races, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix also takes place under floodlights.

What’s the circuit like?
Fast. Very fast. Average speeds around the Jeddah Corniche Circuit are around 250km/h – quicker than those at Silverstone, and second on the 2021 calendar only to Monza – aka ‘The Temple of Speed’. It is, quite simply, the fastest street circuit ever seen in Formula 1 – while the track also features the most corners on the calendar with 27, many of them quick, sinuous bends as the drivers wend their way along the Jeddah waterfront.