Formula 1 maybe could only confirm his calendar for 2023 Earlier this week, but circuits around the world are already gearing up for the future. And while race organizers start hashing Contracts for future F1 races at their circuitsI am sad to report that one circuit will remain on the calendar longer than we would like.
The Jeddah Corniche Circuit first appeared on the Formula 1 schedule in 2021 when it hosted the penultimate round a hotly contested world championship. At the time, it was thought that the event would be a placeholder until a permanent track could be completed in Saudi Arabia.
This permanent track will be built on the outskirts of Riyadh in a new entertainment complex called Qiddiya. Upon completion, the site will contain a FIA Class 1 circuitwhere F1 races can take place, as well as a safari, a water park and the world’s fastest, tallest and longest roller coaster.
But Formula 1 is in no hurry to take its place at the new location, so a Motorsport.com report. The site reports:
“Saudi Arabia held its first F1 race in 2021 at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, which would serve as a temporary home for the Grand Prix before relocating to the newly built town of Qiddiya on the outskirts of Riyadh.
“But as work continues on the state-of-the-art facility, it is expected that Jeddah will now host the race for at least another four years, with a number of the temporary facilities at the track being made permanent.”
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Construction of the Qiddiya compound takes place in three stages. The first phase, which will include “300 activities,” will be completed by the end of 2023, and the last phase will be completed by 2026.
Because of this, Formula 1 will not switch from Jeddah to Qiddiya until much later in that decade. And with a race set in stone in 2023 and the confirmed Saudi Arabia race running until 2030, that means there are plenty more races to come at the Corniche circuit.
Due to the extension, the race organizers are planning changes to the route. But unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like these will be enough anything to fix the crazy layout it currently includes.
Venue changes include the conversion of some temporary structures to permanent buildings at the site. In the meantime, The sports minister of Saudi Arabia has also agreed that the event will be “safer” in the future, having been overshadowed by a missile attack on a nearby Aramco oil facility prior to the 2022 event.
