Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2022: What are the Changes to Jeddah F1 Circuit Amidst Blind Corners?

The inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix had thrills and spills throughout the weekend last year, including the controversial Lewis Hamilton-Max Verstappen debacle. However, what also caught attention was the design of the F1 track.

There were one too many blind corners that the drivers had to cope with, and any incident around such corners could have led to serious life-threatening accidents. Hence, citing the severity, quite a few F1 pilots even raised the issue to the media, both during and following the race weekend at Jeddah.

Now, hardly months after the inaugural Saudi Arabian GP, the event’s CEO, Martin Whitaker, revealed that the circuit layout will be getting a makeover solely to address concerns over lack of visibility around several corners.

What did the Saudi Arabian GP CEO say?

As reported by Motorsport, Whitaker opened up that the changes are primarily to enhance the visibility for the drivers. “We have been striving to improve on some areas for our second event,” he said. “Firstly, there are going to be one or two slight changes to the track.”

“These tweaks are directly related to a drivers’ sight-line from the cockpit. It’s minimal work, but it will help improve forward visibility in a couple of corners.”

“Secondly, we will make some small modifications to the barriers that will favour the lines the drivers take around the course.”

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More changes to the Jeddah F1 circuit

Following the debut race in November, Whitaker admitted that there needs to be a change in angle for quite a few spectators stands amid a lack of visibility.

“We are planning on shifting some of the angles of the grandstands to improve visibility. And, at the same time, we plan to increase the size and develop the Fan Zones, which proved to be extremely popular. We had to get the whole facility ready in a short space of time. But, now, with this small gap to our second race, we are better placed to understand our limitations.”

Overall, the Saudi Arabian GP organizers aren’t taking the drivers’ concerns lightly and the work is already underway. So, will the minor tweaks to the circuit lead to a better race in 2022?

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