18/03/2023
NEWS STORY
The chairman of the Saudi Automobile & Motorcycle Federation, has admitted that the country is open to hosting two rounds of the Formula One World Championship.
Just five years after Ross Brawn told the media that a race in Saudi Arabia was unlikely due to "humans rights aspects" and the conflicts of 2017, the country is looking to host two races.
The Jeddah Corniche Circuit was always meant as a temporary facility until completion of the track at Qiddiya, which has been designed by former F1, WEC driver and GPDA chairman, Alex Wurz, and forms part of an ambitious sports and entertainment facility, which, in addition to the circuit, would include an indoor and cliff-top stadium, shops and luxury hotel, all part of Saudi Vision 30, the Crown Prince's ambitious plan, first announced in 2016, to diversify the economy, making it less dependent on oil while at the same time promoting culture and lifestyle in a bid to boost tourism.
With the Qiddiya set to host its first race in 2027, the chairman of the Saudi Automobile & Motorcycle Federation, Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al Faisal has admitted that he would like to see F1 continue at Jeddah also.
"The idea of having two races in Saudi is doable," he said. "F1 is growing, there is a lot of demand here and because Saudi is big, the regions are so far away, it's like the States.
"You have three races in the States because the market is big there and there is a demand," he continued. "The demand is there, but the decision is not made.
"There is a lot of things that we need to consider," he admitted, "and I don't know if even we want to host two races here, is it practical and feasible for FOM and the teams?
"We built this track to last," he said of the Jeddah facility, "so in theory, yes we can have two races.
"The sport is growing, the demand is growing, so I would not be surprised if Saudi, in the near future, will host two races, I wouldn't be surprised. The demand is there and we have two beautiful facilities."
Asked if talks about a second event have been held with F1, he said: No, it's too early. It's too early but from what I'm seeing, the growth of F1 and also the growth in Saudi Arabia, as I said, we're a very big country, we have the biggest population and the strongest economy.
"There's a lot of things that we need to consider but I'm sure that the people in Saudi Arabia would be happy to have a race in Qiddiya and Jeddah, we can offer two races.
"If that happens, it's going to be two unique races, they are going to be two different unique races, for what I'm seeing and what is planned for Qiddiya.
"So you're going to have two unique venues, different regions, I'm sure if you're going to do it, it's going to be two different... one at the beginning and one at the end. Too early for this, but I wouldn't be surprised."
With his comment suggesting that Saudi Arabia would like to book-end the F1 calendar with the first and final races, Prince Khalid was asked about the timing of the 2024 event.
"The problem is we're going to have Ramadan," he said. "Ramadan every year it shifts like 10 days, 11 days earlier, and one of us, it's either going to be Saudi or Bahrain, can have a race before Ramadan. After Ramadan, the weather in April and May is hot.
"So March is the last time where the weather is suitable. We saw races used to happen in April in Bahrain, and it was too hot. So it's either going to be us or Bahrain, but as I said, we need to discuss with FOM and the teams, and then we make our decision. Otherwise, it will shift to somewhere, I mean, October or after October, where the weather starts to get better in our region."
Check out our Saturday gallery from Jeddah here.