Saudi Arabia begins work on new F1 circuit with 20-story first corner | F1 | Sport
A new image shows the progress that has been made on the eye-catching first corner of a new circuit in Saudi Arabia which hopes to be hosting Formula 1 races in the coming years. The Corniche Circuit in Jeddah currently hosts the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, but the long-term plan is for the event to move east, closer to the capital city Riyadh.
Qiddiya is an ‘Entertainment City’ which has yet to be built, to the west of the capital, but which Saudi Arabia hopes to turn into a major tourist hub. The city itself has not yet been constructed but satellite images show some major landmarks taking shape, such as a major new football stadium which is due to host matches at the 2034 World Cup, a huge Six Flags theme park and a new Mercedes ‘World of Performance’.
The latter is located close to Qiddiya Speed Park, a new circuit under construction with the aim of hosting F1 races in the future. The most-eye catching detail of the track is the radical first corner design, known as ‘The Blade’ – a tight left-hander which is on a raised platform rising up to 20 storeys into the air.
A new image has emerged showing the progress being made on the corner, with some of the support structures now in place. The hope is that construction on the circuit will be complete in time for it to take over as the host venue of the Saudi Arabian GP from 2028, even though much of the rest of the wider Qiddiya complex will still not be in place.
The circuit, which has a construction budget of £360million, was designed by Hermann Tilke. The 71-year-old is a former racer with a civil engineering degree and is the brain behind several tracks which are current staples on the F1 grid, including the street circuits in Jeddah, Las Vegas, Singapore and Baku.
He also designed the dedicated motorsport circuits in Bahrain, Shanghai, Abu Dhabi and Austin, as well as several others which have since dropped off the F1 calendar such as the India’s Buddh International Circuit, Istanbul Park in Turkey, which looks set to return in the coming years, and the Sochi Autodrom which hosted the Russian Grand Prix until the event was cancelled following the invasion of Ukraine.
The completed Qiddiya track will need to be approved and homologated by the FIA before it will be eligible to host F1 events, and the FIM will also need to give its blessing before MotoGP can race there. One of those hoping it will get the go-ahead is Lando Norris, who has previously given his public support to the project.
The Brit said: “It’s what Saudi do, so full respect to them for coming up with some crazy things and trying to make it as cool as what it looks. You have a lot of places which are nowhere near as lively and as fun. So, if you want people to be attracted to the sport in general, you don’t want it just to be a track in the middle of nowhere that no one goes to.”
