Saudi Arabian F1 track revealed

18th March 2021

Seán Ward

The track layout for the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix has been shown for the first time today, and it’ll be the fastest and longest street circuit in F1 history.

The 3.87-mile track will be set out in the Corniche area of Jeddah, the second-largest city by population in Saudi Arabia, about seven miles North of the city centre itself, on 5^th December 2021. The first Saudi Arabian GP, the cars are expected to hit a peak of 200mph and, even with 27 corners (Monaco has 19 while Baku has 20), the average lap speed is expected to be around 155mph. The track will feature three DRS zones, and the race will start in the early evening to end under floodlights, similar to the season-closing Abu Dhabi GP except, of course, the cars will be flying along just a few metres away from houses and shops.

“It’s always very exciting to release the details of a new circuit and the Jeddah Street Circuit is no exception,” said Ross Brawn, Formula 1 Managing Director, Motorsport.

“We have worked closely with the team at Tilke and with the promoter to ensure we have a track that 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. The setting is incredible, on the Red Sea, and we can’t wait to see the cars on track in December.”

“The biggest challenge was working out how to come up with a track concept within what is quite a narrow strip of land that still had decent cornering sections with a wide range of corner speeds and not just be a layout of hairpins, tight corners and straights,” said Craig Wilson, F1's Head of Vehicle Performance..

“It took a few different concept schemes to begin with but once we assessed the simulation results then it was possible to settle quickly on a concept that we believed would work.”

The Saudi Arabian GP will be the penultimate race of the 2021 season ahead of the finale one week later in Abu Dhabi.