Jeddah Corniche Circuit, 2021

Warm and dry weather in Jeddah but track conditions may still be tricky

2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weather

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Warm and stable weather conditions are expected for F1’s first Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, but track conditions may still be tricky.

The penultimate round of the championship will take place this weekend on a new temporary facility, the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, located in the country’s second-largest city. The race takes place overlooking the Red Sea, so coastal breezes will take the edge off the desert temperatures.

Even so the mercury is expected to exceed 30C on all three days of competitive action at the track. What that will mean for track temperatures remains to be seen, but the recently-laid asphalt is likely to soak up heat.

A significant question mark concerns grip levels this weekend. As F1 experienced last year on its visits to the recently re-laid Istanbul Park and Algarve tracks, fresh asphalt takes time to give the desired grip. Initially oils leak from the surface, and only once they’re cleaned up can racing drivers find all the adhesion they crave.

How quickly will the track surface improve this weekend? The warm and dry conditions should help, as will the fact F1 is sharing the venue with Formula 2 and a Porsche support series. That will help clean the surface and lay down rubber. But whether it will yield enough grip for the promised 250kph-plus qualifying laps to be achievable isn’t clear. It may prove treacherous enough to catch out the unwary.

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For more updates on the track conditions during each session keep an eye on RaceFans Live and the RaceFans Twitter account.

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Author information

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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3 comments on “Warm and dry weather in Jeddah but track conditions may still be tricky”

  1. And i was wondering why yesterday was no weather report untill i noticed today it was thursday now… facepalm getting old sucks!

    So a new surface maybe dustwinds so the real times after Q3?

  2. Warm & stable indeed, although I’m surprised Jeddah is warmer than the other F1-hosting Middle Eastern locations at this time of year. Low-30s rather than mid or at max high-20s.

  3. Tricky‘ or STICKY?!

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