F1: Jeddah "could be a little bit quicker" after track changes

Revisions to the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia, which are largely being done for safety reasons, may also increase speeds at Formula 1’s second-quickest track.

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The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix promoters have had just three months to make alterations to the circuit since its inaugural race last year, ahead of F1’s return later this month. Several drivers called for changes to the track after the first race was marred by incidents which led to two red flags and multiple Safety Car and VSC deployments.

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix chief executive Martin Whitaker said they have paid particular attention to drivers’ concerns about the limited visibility through the track’s many fast corners.

“The FIA and Formula 1 had requested that we looked at 12 or 15 points around the circuit,” he said. “Nothing that was an issue as such, it was more about sightlines because obviously the speed of the circuit is such that drivers were arriving very quickly on slower cars.

“I think the main issue was not so much the race but more importantly in qualifying where you’ve got cars backing off to take advantage of a decent lap. The FIA can do things about that, obviously, because in the drivers briefing they can tell people that they must not slow down around certain corners or in certain areas.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull, Jeddah Corniche Circuit, 2021 — Verstappen crashed at the final corner last year

“But predominantly it was felt much better for us as the promoter and the organisers of the circuit to actually look at what we could do. So we have effectively changed the number of the sightlines.”

The majority of the changes requested have been completed for this year’s race, said Whitaker. “I think we’ve effected between seven and 10 of the changes that they were looking for. The rest will take a little bit longer.

“For example the sightline on the inside of turn 23 and 24 is a bigger task and we just didn’t have the time to do that. So that’s one area where I think the FIA race director can help in terms of telling the drivers to be wary when they’re going through it, not to slow down through there on a qualifying lap, for example.”

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While sightlines have largely been improved by repositioning barriers and other track furniture, drivers will also discover one corner has slightly different geometry compared to last year. This is the final turn, where Max Verstappen hit the barrier on his final qualifying lap last year.

Jeddah Corniche Circuit track map, 2021 — **Track data: Jeddah Corniche Circuit**

Whitaker explained this corner has been widened, which was made possible by the removal of a grandstand on the outside of the bend, which could make it quicker.

“The footprint of the circuit remains the same apart from turn 27,” he said. “The edge lines of the circuit remain the same, we’ve just moved some of the barriers back a little bit in certain areas, so it improves the sight lines through that corner. It could make it a little bit quicker, one imagines, if it’s not fast enough already.”

Lewis Hamilton took pole position for last year’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix with a lap of 1’27.511, at an average speed of 253.984kph, which made it the second-fastest track on the F1 calendar. The fastest is Monza, where an average speed of 258.927kph was achieved last year.

Some of the difficulties encountered during Jeddah’s first race were inevitable given how quickly the track was constructed, said Whitaker in response to a question from RaceFans.

“I think it’s fair to say that the success of the event was clear for all to see. It was a phenomenal race and it was a spectacular event. The fact that we started building it at the beginning of May and managed to run a race on December 5th, I think is quite a staggering achievement.

“Having said that, we were a little bit like the proverbial swan. It looked fantastic on the surface, but clearly there were [problems], which is quite natural. Let’s be honest, it doesn’t matter whether the circuit’s in Saudi Arabia or anywhere else in the world. If you try and build a circuit in that short time, there are going to be issues.”

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24 comments on “Jeddah “could be a little bit quicker” after track changes”

Qeki (@qeki)
14th March 2022, 8:42
Yeah. Make the average speed even higher that will make the track safer..
1. amian
  14th March 2022, 12:18
  Oh stop whining. The amount of padding they have on the walls is ridiculous, they barely break wings hitting them.
  1. Alesici
    14th March 2022, 20:19
    Errr… Leclerc hit his helmet on the titanium halo in his qualifying crash at turn 22, as you can see at 2:19 if you select the 0.25x playback speed setting:
    
    This circuit is deadly, and to me, its safety approval was Massi’s most unforgivable mistake.
    I hope that once they’ve found someone who can count up the improvement requests and then work out how many they’ve addressed, that those corrections are big enough to sufficiently limit the risks. Last year’s practice and qualifying was terrifying to watch.
    1. Alesici
      14th March 2022, 20:22
      Curses, my link to the Leclerc crash replay didn’t appear correctly within my comment. Maybe this is how it’s done.
tielemst
14th March 2022, 8:46
Seeing the Jeddah GP last year, I’m afraid somebody’s going to get killed over there. And I’m not even talking about The Hamilton-Verstappen incidents. Improving sightlines is not going to prevent that. Hope I’m proven wrong.
1. Jere (@jerejj)
  14th March 2022, 16:30
  @tielemst I’m not this pessimistic.
  1. NS Biker (@rekibsn)
    15th March 2022, 0:09
    Jere, I certainly hope you are right.
    Problem is the general layout is a street circuit, but the second fastest course on the calendar.? This is NUTS.
    At a minimum, one thing they can do for qualifying, as pointed out by someone (not moi) who follows Indy Car, set the start and end of the qualifying lap in such a way that the drivers can do a hot lap and still get back to the pits without having to trundle all the way around the track back to the pit entrance.
    I didn’t understand it at first, but it’s brilliant.
    1. Alesici
      15th March 2022, 8:06
      This is the idea I keep on suggesting, but it seems like they’ll wait for somebody to die, then decide to think about it. It doesn’t seem to have a downside, so I can only assume that nobody in F1 has ever watched Indycar qualifying.
JohnH (@johnrkh)
14th March 2022, 8:48
Rubish track rubbish country 81 people beheaded just last week, scrap the race.
1. Denis (@denis1304)
  14th March 2022, 10:10
  Yes, I’m boycotting this race.
2. Sonny Crockett (@sonnycrockett)
  14th March 2022, 12:26
  +1
  It’s absolutely disgusting that F1 races there. Embarrassing even.
3. The Dolphins
  14th March 2022, 12:45
  +1
4. ferrox glideh (@ferrox-glideh)
  14th March 2022, 19:29
  +1
5. Brett
  14th March 2022, 22:11
  81 sick kabbalist child eaters, yes!
glynh (@glynh)
14th March 2022, 9:31
It’s a shame this track won’t be on the calendar long. It’s spectacular to watch and a rare combination of tight and challenging while still having good racing..
1. Jere (@jerejj)
  14th March 2022, 9:54
  @glynh, I agree. The upcoming race could already be the last.
  Next year’s at the latest, depending on Qiddiya track’s readiness.
  While I enjoy Jeddah Corniche Circuit a lot, I hope the successor would be similarly flowing.
Adrian
14th March 2022, 9:41
This circuit is bad for TV because of all the blind corners and complete lack of atmosphere. It is a disgrace that it is an F1 round.
Jere (@jerejj)
14th March 2022, 9:56
Having the concrete wall moved a bit might make the last corner exit faster despite the corner itself remaining unchanged, but I doubt this would make a massive difference in avg lap speed, & consequently, lap time.
Sonny Crockett (@sonnycrockett)
14th March 2022, 12:37
sportswashing
NOUN
“when a corrupt or tyrannical regime uses sport to enhance its reputation”
1. S
  14th March 2022, 12:46
  But does anyone actually believe that it works?
  Or does everyone just assume that ‘other people’ think it works, and are actually playing mind games with themselves?
  1. Coventry Climax
    14th March 2022, 13:53
    S: You’re the living proof that it does work.
  2. Alberto
    14th March 2022, 14:12
    It works. Look at Abrahamovic, everyone is sad that he is selling Chelsea because they were very successful during his owenership and he cared about the club. No one talks about how he acquired his wealth in the 90s or the fact that he is Putin’s right hand man. People symphatise with him more than they were in the 90s.
Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
14th March 2022, 13:13
If you try and build a circuit in that short time, there are going to be issues.
And that’s why you shouldn’t!
Coventry Climax
14th March 2022, 13:59
‘requested that we looked at 12 or 15 points around the circuit’
‘telling the drivers to be wary when they’re going through it, not to slow down through there on a qualifying lap, for example’
Wow. That really sounds like a guy who knows what he’s talking about.
What’s an obviously english/american person doing there helping the Saudi Arabia regime, by the way?