Jeddah Street Circuit, 2021

F1 reveals “fastest ever street track” for Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

2021 F1 season

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Formula 1 has revealed the layout of the new track which will hold the first Saudi Arabian Grand Prix later this year.

The 6.175 kilometre Jeddah Street Circuit will be the longest street track used by F1 today, and the championship claims it will also be the fastest. The 27-turn track is estimated to be lapped at average speed of up to 250kph, indicated lap times will be less than 89 seconds.

The Baku City Circuit in Azerbaijan is currently F1’s fastest street circuit. The track record for its 20-turn, 6.003km layout stands at 1’40.495, an average speed of 215.043kph.

The layout could include as many as three DRS zones, and it up to 15 metres wide in places to encourage overtaking. In order to meet the minimum F1 race distance of 305 kilometres, 50 laps of the track will be required.

Formula 1 has worked with Tilke Gmbh on the design of the circuit. Motorsport director Ross Brawn said the circuit will “provides exciting wheel to wheel racing for our fans and challenges all of the drivers.

“The design brings out the best of a modern street circuit but also has fast-paced free-flowing areas that will create fast speeds and overtaking opportunities.”

Jeddah will host the penultimate round on the 2021 F1 calendar on December 5th. The track will also host the penultimate triple-header Formula 2 round the same weekend.

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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130 comments on “F1 reveals “fastest ever street track” for Saudi Arabian Grand Prix”

  1. Too much bow, not enough bone saw.

    1. I wonder if the top tier sponsors will be Rolex, Heineken and Smith & Sons. Fine Quality Bone Saws

      1. I hear that the Kashoggi turn is very sharp.

  2. This has to be a joke.

    1. I agree. Its horrible. Those fences as well… I really dislike Formula E, in which they also use these fences, purely because of these. I understand there is more money to gain with bringing races to the city center but oh my what a disgusting look it creates. I know that this is where we will be in a decade with F1 as well. Until then I keep enjoying proper tracks

    2. How so? Looks promising to me for a 21st century F1 street race instead of 1950s Monaco

    3. Pedro Andrade
      18th March 2021, 12:51

      I get a really bad feeling from this. Tight circuit, few (if any) opportunities to overtake, looks ugly like Valencia and Sochi, no part of the circuit seems to have any character. That this happens in a country with a terrible human rights record is the cherry on the cake. Definitely am not looking forward to this race.

      1. Tommytintop (@)
        19th March 2021, 14:18

        Oh…… I was hoping for something to show off the beautiful buildings and parts of the city that people don’t usually see. Instead, we get formula e track and not something like Baku or Monte Carlo. This is a sanitized corporate billboard area.

        1. Tommytintop (@)
          21st March 2021, 22:27

          The Track really has 20 proper corners not 27 so it shouldn’t hold the record of the track with the most corners. Tilke should be given his marching orders for this one.

    4. Totally agree, another rubbish street circuit. F1 is pandering to places like Vietnam, Saudi and losing lifelong F1 fans of Germany and Portugal.

      No overtaking, and a precession with terrible views. But I bet the Saudi’s paid them a lot!

  3. The configuration looks decent. A little longer than Baku, so the second-longest in F1 after Spa. The number of race laps will be 50 as it’s the lowest needed for the minimum target of 305.000 km.

    1. You repeated half the article here :-)

      I think it is an aweful looknig track and wonder how much of these roads were really roads before F1 got announced. Looks like a purpose build facility.

      1. @Danny The article was shorter at the time. No mention of the number of laps, nor does it still have Spa mentioned, but more relevantly, the former. If anything, I’m the original one to bring up these things rather than me repeating something.

  4. Well it looks awful from a driving perspective. 27 corners jesus…

    1. Watch the video. A good portion if them are flat.

  5. If it doesn’t win the record for having the “Fastest ever track” it may well win the “Hosting international sport in most repressive regime” award.

    1. It has a chain saw on one end and a middle finger on the other end. A neat nod to the country’s approach to journalists and women’s rights.

      1. It looks more like a kiddy knife with an ergonomic grip.

        1. damn, it totally does :)

      2. I need a new keyboard!

    2. What about the British GP? Do you know the history of Britain’s colonialism and murdering whole nations and languages? Saudi Arabia is nothing compared to that history. Britain doesn’t do it as much anymore, they are just reaping the benefits of past slaughters and watching countries turn English in first language and in culture.

      1. So you are condoning the Saudi regime? Lots of whataboutism going on here

      2. Funny you mention that, of murdering nations and languages. Where are the native Aramaic speakers? Coptic? Nubian? North African Berber languages? South Semitic? Where have their unique alphabets and beliefs gone?

      3. I don’t recall there being any F1 races during the age of conquest. If you want to avoid places with a horrible past, you probably couldn’t go anywhere anymore. You could just avoid regimes that are abusing human rights *right now* though, instead of granting them legitimacy with international events. But since we go to China, I don’t really see why we shouldn’t go to Saudi Arabia as well.

      4. Maybe if there was a British GP in colonial times you would have a point. Heck, why do we have a German GP? See my point, you’re really barking up the wrong tree kpcart.

      5. What about that horrible attack that should never have happened 2 months ago?

  6. Well, I won’t beheading there any time soon…

    1. Haha, excellent

    2. Brilliant…! COD

    3. The track was originally supposed to be clockwise, but the Saudi Royal Family wanted there to be as few rights as possible.

  7. Looks like it is fun to drive. Though it looks to narrow for overtaking.

  8. 27 “corners” (as if 18/19/20/21 are anything other than a straight), and not one clear cut overtaking spot.

    Even the final hairpin looks too wide for it to be a decent braking spot.

    Trying to go into the Saudi GP with as open a mind as possible but this is ridiculous.

    1. @cduk_mugello If turn 1 and turn 27 are not overtaking spots nothing is. You’re not seem to be doing a good job with that open-mindedness you’d mentioned

      1. @montreal95 Ha! T27 looks akin the the hairpin at Nurburgring, and I can’t remember much overtaking round there at the last race.

        T1, watch the video mate. I honestly can’t see any overtaking through there.

        I hope I’m wrong!

        1. @cduk_mugello There’s not much overtaking at Dunlop hairpin true, but the approach is much slower and the line choice more limited. Maybe you should look to other tracks which have banked hairpins with multiple attack lines that actually induce overtaking. there’s one such in your nickname ;) Everybody said “There will be literally no overtaking” about that one also, remember? I didn’t buy into that then and i’m not buying it here. Re: turn 1, I watched the video. The straight looks short in the video because it starts near the start-line but you look at the track size and realize it really isn’t. Coupled with T27 before the straight I think it’ll be a decent overtaking spot

          It’s all on paper of course. If the race’s as dull as dishwater come December I’m prepared to eat my words. But I can only judge from what I see right now

          1. @montreal95 I agree it looks a bit more promising than some think. With two consecutive DRS zones before T27, it may be just wide enough to force the lead car to have to cover the inside every now and then, which the trailing car could use to set up an overtake into T1. I’m curious what the downforce levels will be, and how strong the DRS effect will be.

          2. @markzastrow That’s exactly the point! The downforce levels will have to be low on such a fast layout. Therefore the cars will be more nervous in the corners which will a)induce more overtaking since one who’s made a mistake is vulnerable and b)coupled with low margin for error given lack of space, can lead to a chaotic race with safety cars, which in turn will mean even more overtaking. At least that’s what I see looking at the circuit as a whole

          3. Downforce levels will be whatever the teams decide is the fastest for getting around the track.
            With 27 corners (as mentioned, some will be flat) likely there is plenty of benefit to loading on the downforce. There isn’t enough flat out straight track to justify the benefit of a low DF set-up and the dirty air will kill the following car for 80% of the track.
            Just have to wait to see how it all unfolds.

          4. @rekibsn This is not how it works. The length of the high speed dictates the downforce levels, not the corners. You could ostensibly get a faster lap time on the old Hockenheim circuit, for example, by running medium downforce because the stadium section “balances” the long straights laptime wise. And yet everyone was running Monza spec. Because laptime is no good if everyone overtakes you on the straights. This isn’t a time trial. Unless you’re 100% confident you’re gonna start on pole and run away with it. And not even the Mercs can be sure of that…

  9. Formula 1 has worked with Tilke Gmbh on the design of the circuit.

    *rolls eyes*

    1. Tilke, a name as unmovable as Maylander. For some reason no-one else gets a chance…

      1. Tommy Scragend
        18th March 2021, 12:58

        The difference is that Maylander is supposed to get the cars trundling round one after the other with no prospect of overtaking.

  10. Not a single overtaking place (except for the usual main straight). Will public stoning from the stands be used as an experimental motivational boost to replace DRS? Since it’s legal in SA this is a perfect chance. I’m sorry, but chopping journalists into pieces in embassies around the world, public stoning, legal rape of women if they “provoke” men, legal slavery (a woman cannot do anything, including leaving her house, without a written consent from her captor they call husband or closest male relative), public beheadings, thousands of migrant workers who die building objects like this… You know, this all kind of matters to me. And this is not some negative PR with evil Russians to suit some cold war aspirations, this is reality and if anyone’s ever met someone from Saudi Arabia knows it. I can’t wait for Sir Hamilton to speak for human rights when he’ll be racing there, and to kneel for the victims of the Saudi regime in front of His majesty the royal prince.

    1. Yes kneel before your superior. That will show them. $$$$$$ means Lewis will say it’s great to race their.

    2. Good luck with that, money talks or should that be, money talks so loudly none of the other issues will be heard.

  11. F1 should not be going there.

    1. x 1,000,000,000

      I’m embarrassed that my sport thinks it’s acceptable to do so.

      I genuinely feel that as many of us as possible should boycott the race. That would send a clear message to F1 that Saudi Arabia is a race too far.

      1. Barry Bens (@barryfromdownunder)
        18th March 2021, 9:52

        After reading that opinion piece (a bad one as well) from a certain writer on this site on why going there is not actually a bad thing, there’s really not much left to say. People will spin it into some ‘but no really, its a good thing’ because they’re too blindsided and don’t want to step on anyones toes.

        It’s amazing how contradictional some people can get just so they can go to bed at night thinking they’ve improved the world.

        1. This is sport, the citizens in Saudi Arabia deserve international sport events like any people in the world do.
          What is the history of the country you come from? So many countries, including half the tracks on the f1 grid have WORSE human rights records overall than Saudi Arabia, and by a huge margin. I’ll give you one easy example: USA. First they culled the indigenous, then they bring in slaves, now racism is rife, gun violence is extreme, homelessness is a plague and their right wing government let half a million people die in a pandemic because they cared about being re-elected instead of caring for their citizens (that is a human rights violation). And then of course the suffering people voted their government out and had to suffer an attack on their democratic institutions as retaliation. Don’t forget corrupt USA has had 4 years of doing business deals with the Saudis at the expense of other poorer parts of the middle east. I hope you are as vocal in your opposition to the US grand prix. The US grand prix is never as popular I’m US as it’s homegrown NASCAR and indycar anyway. Every planet earth citizen deserves international sport, no matter what regime is running their country.

          1. I didn’t know they were hosting F1 races in the USA at the time of slavery?

            You confuse a lot of matters in your post and sound frustrated.

          1. Barry Bens (@barryfromdownunder)
            18th March 2021, 15:29

            I didn’t, seeing as I mute twitter acocunts I have no interest in seeing (and I do follow Dieter and Keith with pleasure for years now).

            this sort of theatre can’t happen anywhere we go

            . I’m not actually sure whether it is actually possible for someone to be this naieve as to think this doesn’t happen all the time, everywhere? Does she also believe that political parties are actually going to do what they claim in their program? Surely not…

            I don’t know, maybe this is the wake-up call most people get when they are much younger and they see the world for what it really is. Then again, after her defending of where COVID came from (‘theres no proof it came from Wuhan’, like, really?), I’m not getting my hopes up.

          2. Barry Bens (@barryfromdownunder)
            18th March 2021, 15:30

            Guess my reply isn’t to someone liking. So I guess my short answer will have to do: I didn’t, I have now and ‘gee, what a surprise’ :’)

      2. Agreed.

        Keith I’d be prepared to sign up to F1Fanatic subscription if you boycotted the race on the whole website. I appreciate it’s a tricky one for you – this is your business but it would send a powerful message and I’d support it.

        1. Keith, how about a Racefans poll on whether the race should be boycotted?

          (My only additional comment is: Don’t venture into a Saudi Arabian embassy any time soon)

          1. @sonnycrockett I seem to remember there were calls for this site to boycott the Bahrain GP when it returned to the calendar in 2012, owing to the human rights situation in the country. Ultimately @keithcollantine decided not to boycott on the basis that it wouldn’t achieve much other than disrupting the continuity of coverage here (apologies Keith if I have misremembered your position, I am just going off what I remember from the time).

            Based on that I don’t think a RaceFans boycott of the Saudi GP is likely or necessarily desirable. I would, however, like to see this site (and other accredited journos) use their access to challenge Liberty’s decision to take F1 to Saudi Arabia, though. Make them own it, at every available opportunity. If the sport is to be debased in this way we as fans deserve to understand why.

            The recent report confirming Mohammed bin Salman’s involvement in the Kashoggi murder was released during the Formula E race in Saudi Arabia. I haven’t yet seen anyone asking the FIA whether they’re comfortable with this, but it’s surely incumbent on journalists who have this level of access to be asking the question.

          2. Keith is strangely silent. Perhaps the potential negative publicity for the site amongst f1 personelle delays a response…

        2. I guess you are not a Saudi, maybe British? If you are in UK, you should be first alarmed at your Royal family and the disgusting acts they have done over the centuries that dont get a flinch of outrage by white Anglo Saxons. But when it is an Arab country wanting to hold an international sport event…. you are outraged to the point of boycott. Also check what diplomatic deals your country has with Saudi Arabia before complaining about an international Sports event being held there, complain about them first. Don’t worry, they won’t behead any foreign drivers at the event. Selective outrage is different to woke.

          1. I’m going to reply to this post by cutting it into pieces (no pun intended)

            I guess you are not a Saudi, maybe British? If you are in UK, you should be first alarmed at your Royal family and the disgusting acts they have done over the centuries that dont get a flinch of outrage by white Anglo Saxons. – Acts in the past are not right and we all knowthat but we cannot change the past, only look at it as an opportunity to make the future better.

            But when it is an Arab country wanting to hold an international sport event…. you are outraged to the point of boycott.Has nothing to do with it being an Arab country. The country could be anywhere in the world. But is a regime is chopping journalists into pieces, still carry out public stoning, legally rape of women if they “provoke” men, legal slavery (a woman cannot do anything, including leaving her house, without a written consent from her captor they call husband or closest male relative), perform public beheadings, allow thousands of migrant workers to die in construction then yes there is going to be outcry to the point of boycott. Arab country or not that is not the point of the outcry.

            Also check what diplomatic deals your country has with Saudi Arabia before complaining about an international Sports event being held there, complain about them first.We can complain about multiple things at the same time. My personal view is that we should completely ignore regimes like Saudi Arab from all international relationships. It is corrupt and it doesn’t acknowledge human rights. But I am fully aware that I can’t change the diplomatic deals that the UK and Saudi Arabia have in place. Doesn’t mean I agree with them

            Don’t worry, they won’t behead any foreign drivers at the event. Selective outrage is different to woke.No they won’t but I am pretty sure plenty of migrant workers will still die between now and the date of the GP, woman being raped etc etc etc, the regime is run by disgusting beings and they deserve nothing.

          2. Broccoliface
            18th March 2021, 20:34

            Lmao this guy’s running defence for Saudi abuse all through the thread. I think his name stands for Krown Prince.

      3. I fully agree and am alarmed. Maybe not giving Liberty enough slack but I fear this is exactly where we will be going. Their efforts to go city center are horrible and purely money driven. No-one in the city that doesnt like motorsport wants it. The one that love the sport would like to see it on a proper track. Yet, the execs will know better

        1. Oh please… Every F1 race on the Calendar is about money first. Name one F1 race where fans have had power in choosing where a race will be held, ie on a race track or road track.

    2. F1 is implicitly endorsing extrajudicial murder, legal sexual assault of women, and a generally barbarous valuation of human life. Saudi Arabia is a terrible country run by terrible people and now F1 is a part of it.
      Although I also will not “beheading to” the race in Jedda I am less likely to attend any races in person this year and will be letting my F1TV Pro subscription lapse and will just watch on TV. I suspect F1’s American owners will only understand if the message is in negative dollar signs rather than gallons of blood spilled.

  12. Looks similar to the New Jersey track concept from about 10 years ago. Also LOL @ numbering every slight kink like it’s a corner.

    1. Now they can also say that they have the race track with most corners :l

  13. Excellent piece of track design for a street course

    A couple of challenging corners, a couple of overtaking spots and little room for error. But that’s on paper. Let’s see how the real thing goes

  14. It looks pretty good to me, I’ve always liked street circuits because there’s no run off and it will be interesting to see a fast flowing one instead of the usual sharp corners you see on a street circuit.

    Only downside is if it is any good it will probably be a one off.

  15. Formula E would embarrassed to race at this track.

    1. Formula E would unable to race at this track – there – fixed it for you.

  16. Looks alright to me. Turn 1 and turn 27 for overtaking, while the high speed winding bits could be interesting if they are surrounded by walls. Not a textbook Tilke and a lot better than the Vietnam course. Still should not be racing in a country with a human rights record like this though.

    1. Having now seen the video, I think the course is alright up until turn 13. After that, it is not great. Looks better than a Sochi or Abu Dhabi but will probably sit no higher than the 15th best current course.

  17. I like the look of it, but you can only see so much from a line drawing, are there any pictures of the track on a map of the place so we can see things like track width and elevation etc.

    1. Check the onboard lap video. Its just fences and corners

      1. Actually looks pretty fun to drive.

        Reminds me a bit of Valencia though, hopefully that’s not a bad thing.

  18. First point, F1 should not be going to Saudi Arabia. The regime’s human rights records means it currently should be a no-go.

    Second (and given F1 is going…), I think the track looks interesting, in the sense that it will be very flowing and quick. A positive point is that, with those speeds and number of corners, safety cars may be many. A negative point is that I think non-passive DRS overtakes may be limited. But as a track it has piqued my interest, so not bad (even if, unfathomably, the design has again been given to Tilke).

    Third, I believe this is a temporary measure before SA uses a purpose-built circuit? Is F1 not ultimately going here (https://www.racefans.net/2019/08/08/saudi-arabia-planning-spa-beating-longest-f1-track-first-race/) once it’s built?

    1. An interesting interview about the thought behind the design of new track with the ever insightful Ross Brawn here- https://www.formula1.com/en/video/2021/3/Ross_Brawn_expects_new_Jeddah_Circuit_to_promote_%27wheel_to_wheel_racing%27.html

      1. @alloythere thanks for that link – great interview

        1. Pleasure

  19. I just checked out the renders on the official F1 website.

    There are so many buildings across the track it’s ridiculous. It’s going to be like a curvy Abu Dhabi.

  20. The onboard footage of the tracks doesn’t excite me at all. The track looks very narrow and even the few slow corners look to be too fast to generate any kind of overtaking.
    But what we need to realize is, that it really doesn’t matter. None of those tracks (be it Singapore, Sochi, Abu Dhabi, Baku, Hanoi or even Albert Park in Melbourne) are primarily designed to create good overtaking. The real purpose of those tracks is to boost tourism in these cities/countries, highlight them as cool tourist destinations. Therefore the promoters don’t care about how the racing is gonna be, as long as it looks spectacular on TV and the cars pass some nice scenery and buildings.

    1. I wish you were wrong

    2. None of those tracks (be it Singapore, Sochi, Abu Dhabi, Baku, Hanoi or even Albert Park in Melbourne) are primarily designed to create good overtaking.

      @srga91 Same could be said with even the classic circuits as designing circuits aimed at creating overtaking wasn’t really a thing until 20-ish years ago.

      Up until then the biggest thing that went into circuit design was to create something that would be a challenge for both car and driver & something that was fun to drive & a spectacle to watch been driven from various locations trackside.

      For example when Silverstone was redesigned for 1991 the changes were all based off creating a challenge, Same for the modern Spa & Nurburgring when they were built in the early 80’s.

      The first time I really recall overtaking been considered as big thing when designing a new circuit was when Sepang was built in 1999. And as people became obsessed with creating as much overtaking as possible in the years since every new circuit has just copied all of the design points that people feel work which has just resulted in most modern circuits been very similar in many ways unfortunately.

      1. @roger-ayles
        I’d go even further and say it goes back to Tilke’s re-design of the iconic Österreichring in 1996 and turn it into the track we know today as the Red Bull Ring. The designs of Turn 3 and 4 were definitely shaped in such a way to aid overtaking (especially Turn 3).
        As you say, then came Sepang which was the prototype-racetrack for Tilke’s following designs. Copying Sepang resulted in a load of similar racetracks and so they lost their own identity, as they became ‘one of the many’ and weren’t unique. The best example IMO is Shanghai. It’s just a bigger and wider version of Sepang which lacks character and doesn’t present the same challenges as Sepang does (surface is too smooth and they don’t have the extreme/challenging weather as Malaysia does).
        The insteresting one of these tracks ist the Bahrain International Circuit. Yes, it was also built for creating overtakes and is also an ‘allround-circuit’, but still sort of unique.
        As terrible as some of those circuits are, at least the races there are more appealing than the likes of Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Sochi, etc.

    3. @srga91 It’s like the whole track is based on sector 2 in Baku…

      1. @qeki
        That’s actually insulting to Baku ;)

  21. Anyone else getting Valencia vibes? It’s fast, pretty narrow and surrounded by close walls…

    1. If anything, it looks even worse than Valencia. Valencia was at least pretty wide in the main overtaking areas, but Jeddah seems to be tight everywhere around the lap.

  22. Really? The FIA and Liberty don’t seem to have a clue. F1 is not just about the speed, it’s about the quality of the racing. The ramping up of the razzmatazz and the gimmicks will do nothing long term for F1. The reduction of aero and the budget cap is fine imo. Some of the best racing I’ve ever seen has been in the formula V and Formula Ford categories. The FIA/Liberty group are heading down the wrong path chasing the bigger and better spectacle.

    1. I am worried too. This is the very wrong direction. Maybe an alternative to F1 should be piloted with other car manufacturer brands. It seems Liberty still is not on top of the real DNA of this sport. Gosh, these Americans, they sure know how to f things up dont they?

  23. There is not a reason I can think of for F1 not to go to Saudi Arabia. If you want to take the line of not holding events in repressive countries then you should scrap a lot of the other races too. I want FIA and Liberty to make sure that the event is a beacon of light in that country unlike for example the FIFA events in Qatar. The event shouldn’t cause suffering for workers foreign or domestic. Symbols of oppression such as the burka should be banned from the premises. One should be able to say whatever they like on the F1 paddocks without fear of prosecution.

    1. Brazil, China, Bahrain, Russia……. Just to mention a few with a record of “disappearing” people.

    2. IVAYLO you’re kidding aren’t you? You do realise that countries such as China Russia the Saudis pay to have an event that they can use to promote their own agenda.
      Do you need a history lesson of despots who have used sport to sugar coat their atrocities? I suspect it would not do any good!!

      1. Any country can and will use any large event to promote their agenda. What is the criteria here? You’re screeching but you are not reading, and I certainly don’t require any of your history lessons.
        The event must be hosted according to the Christian values that culminated in the English common law and continental European civil law, the individual as the bearer of their responsibility and thus freedom of choice and freedom of speech. Leading by example is not legitimizing atrocities. I also think that withholding alcohol from being drunk in the various events hosted in Sharia law countries is completely the wrong idea. You either host the event with all the Formula One traditions or you don’t host one at all.

        1. IVAYLO You lost me at “Christian values” I’m not going to bother with “English common law” silliness. You want to talk about “Leading by example is not legitimizing atrocities”. I’m sorry to inform you but I would think the Irish, the Scottish and the Welch would be happy to discuss that with you. If you survive that you can move on to India, Palestine, South Africa, good luck and good by!

    3. I whole heartedly agree. Best thing to make a change is to go there to inspire than sit in our couches scowling and mumbling.

      1. @david-beau yeah worked with Apartheid in South Africa, Germany in 1936, China 2008 …oh hang on.

        1. Go on…

    4. The World Cup has as much business being in Qatar as F1 does in Saudi Arabia- none whatsoever. Thousands of migrant workers will have died building those stadiums in Qatar and Saudi Arabia’s draconian laws makes these high-profile business associations all the more shameful.

  24. Bad in every way

  25. Miltiadis (@miltosgreekfan)
    18th March 2021, 11:09

    The video that F1 posted with the onboard from Assetto Corsa didn’t please me for various reasons.

    The first one is safety. The circuit seems extremely tight in most parts and the vast majority of corners are high speed.

    High speed corners + minimal runoff doesn’t sound that good to me. Imagine having a punchure like the one that Kvyat suffered at Silverstone in one of the high speed parts…

    Bar the initial safety concerns, overtaking seems to be rather difficult in this layout.

    Turns 1 & 2 seem like a copy of the Hanoi corners 1 & 2, plus the main overtaking spot (turn 27), is a short straight after a sequence of multiple high speed corners. It’s exit seems super tight as well,so honestly i can’t see many cars going side by side there.

    Another poor addition to the calendar,but as usual in Formula 1, money is a key deciding factor in many stuff…

    1. Since the San Marino GP in 1994, there has been a major focus on safety. And justifiably so. Now they go and propose this.??
      Full agreement with @pironitheprovocateur, this must be a joke. Unfortunately I suspect not.
      Monza and Spa have chicanes to slow the cars down. This proposal is the worst combination of zero run-off street courses, blind corners with the high speeds of an unfettered Monza or Spa. Heck, lets dust off the real Parabolica and get rid of those nasty bus-stops.
      An unfortunate multi car pile-up with fatalities and F1 will be doing the political two-step for years, just to justify their very existence.
      This is just a little early for March 32nd, but a joke it certainly should be.

  26. This will be the first Grand Prix in 30 years I won’t watch.

  27. Looks nice and fast but doesn’t look like there are many overtaking opportunities. Caption on the video should say onboard “virtual” lap rather than onboard lap too.

  28. Bernd Mayländer FTW.
    I hope the teams don’t have to apply for visas in person at an embassy.

  29. I still hope that MBS giving the order to murder Khasoggi and having sent his death squads over, is going to nip this GP in the bud.

    It’s probably wishfull thinking, since nobody cares that 2 real life slaves die every day working on the preparation for WC of Qatar…

  30. Leaving aside the politics, i quite like the track. Turns 7-12 look fun with drivers having to maintain a constant high speed. Love Turn 22. It will be great to observe the apex speeds in qualifying here and any sliding that may occur right after at T23 / T24.

    But on the flip-side, T1 and T2 look horrible. A definite safety car on lap 1 there. Turn 11 will cause lot of track violations as will T16 and T17. Overtaking will be difficult. Will need extensive DRS.

    Overall mixed bag. It will become like Baku I feel. Lot of safety cars, drivers’ mistakes and exciting races.

  31. I think it looks relatively fun to drive but given how fast, twisty & narrow a lot of it is i’m not sure it will end up been that good from a racing standpoint.

    It does also concern me a little that they are still talking about DRS zones when we should all be looking forward to finally getting rid of the thing next year.

    1. As I’ve said elsewhere, there is absolutely zero chance they will get rid of DRS in 2022. I’m afraid we will have to live with this so-called temporary measure indefinitely.

  32. All that space in the desert and all we are doing is racing in what looks like a tunnel.

  33. I wont pass judgement until I drive the track on sim, but it looks fun.

    Maybe not very safe, 250kph average speed on the streets. They will probably have all kinds of asphalt runoff, which is a major turnoff for me.

    And Saudi Arabia, blah. Whitewashing their regime with a bought F1 race.

  34. They have 7 months left now to cancel the Grand Prix.

  35. The track outline made me think of Montreal at first glance, but after watching the on-board lap, it reminds me more of driving Singapore in the game.
    My next thought was how many laps will be wasted under the Safety Car while the carnage from inevitable massive pile-ups get cleaned up?

  36. Looks like a wonky spoon.

    And that’s me putting it mildly.

  37. It’s like Macao except with the walls in the style of Valencia’s “street” circuit, hence removing most of the challenge. Also reminds me of Baku, in terms of the same hype and length of the track.

    And if this was located anywhere else in the world, I might be slightly optimistic and interested in it.

  38. Where exactly are these overtaking opportunities? I can’t see anywhere. What a fail.

  39. Doug Webster
    18th March 2021, 16:57

    What it we made the swimming pool an entire circuit? This.

  40. The codies preview mustn’t be the real deal. 15m wide where? The end product must look more like baku. The close barriers give a massive sensation of speed. The layout looks impossible on paper, the only way it works is if it is indeed 15 m wide. Hopefully it is wide because the codies preview looks like the most dangerous track I could ever imagine. Tek pro everywhere.

    1. Frustrates me how we can race these fast street circuits with fast corners and zero runoff… yet we can’t have the last two turns at Cataluña because there ‘isn’t adequate runoff’

      1. I agree. I don’t see what the purpose of the FIA’s circuit grading if they’ll just grant exceptions. There are a number of FIA grade 2 circuits that would be MUCH safer for Formula One than Monaco or Baku.

  41. It certainly looks interesting, being such a fast street track, but unfortunately I am not convinced. The closeness of those walls suggests to me that it will be very difficult to overtake, even with DRS, and I also suspect the levels of turbulent air will be very high, like in Sochi. Hopefully I will be wrong.

  42. I’m just here for the comments!
    Seriously though, I hope the track looks better on camera than it does from the low-down on board sim. It looks natural and flowing this time, but I’m not sure where they’re expecting overtaking to happen. I feel like despairing at yet another mess of a Tilkedrome but let’s see how it races first. And yeah I feel a bit dirty watching an F1 race in a country with such poor human rights records. But it isn’t the first time F1 has, and we could talk about the Qatar World Cup, or the moralities of sports or trade with dozens of countries around the world… it’s the world we live in sadly. But disappointing to see F1 sweep such concerns under the carpet. Money talks.

  43. I’m afraid I sense death is on the horizon for this event. Narrow blind corners at 200mph at night, passing under 7 heavy bridge/building structures. I don’t think I will be able to bear to watch qualifying, with open wheel cars frequently circulating at speeds 140mph faster than those around them on warm up and cool down laps necessary for those cursed cheese tyres. The resulting airplane crash always threatens to happen.

    They really need to take a leaf out of Indycar’s rulebook, and move the timing line to before the pit entry for every qualifying session, removing the need for a cool down lap and halving this massive safety risk this circuit’s fast blind bends are flagrantly dancing around. But they will wait and wait for the big one to happen before thinking of making this change, which has no downside, apart from possibly necessitating a hybrid battery charge in the pits, which doesn’t sound difficult.

    Maybe I will write to the FIA, as this is the final straw for me.

    Apart from that, its a real shame that for all these fast curves, the fastest actual corner is only 5th gear. It would have been nice to have another Melbourne Turn 11/12, especially as I think they’re considering removing that. Still, nice to see Tilke try a positive banked corner for once rather than adverse camber he seems to love. But he’s put the banked corner before a straight into a corner that’s 100% impossible to overtake into. A banked corner is a great way of allowing two cars to closely follow, helping subsequent overtaking, but he has never grasped that.

  44. It might be okay compared to most street circuits but in my opinion F1 already has too many street circuits, especially among the newer venues. I watched the video – with the continuous catch fencing it looks like they are racing around the prison for jailed womens’ rights activists.

  45. The track was originally supposed to be clockwise, but the Saudi Royal Family wanted there to be as few rights as possible. Which is why (stolen joke) I won’t be beheading there anytime soon.

    But seriously, it looks pretty good, But F1 still has no business in Saudi Arabia. Period.

    1. *won’t beheading

  46. looks a bit dangerous if anyone gets it slightly wrong on some of these flat out corners (or if anyone has a brakes failure). for them and for anyone else close behind them.

  47. What’s with the banging on about 27 turns? In a modern F1 car, a heap of them won’t even register so we end up with essentially a couple of straights with hairpins at the end.

    Walls, long straights and high speed ( read flat out) turns don’t make for great safety as so many have already commented. It seems that the FIA has learned nothing from the Grosjean miracle escape last year because this track sets up extreme risks of massively high speed crashes.

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