Treacherous Jeddah F1 Street Circuit Undergoes Transformation for Safer Saudi Arabian GP

The Jeddah Circuit of Saudi Arabia is to undergo a few changes. The changes are to be made keeping in mind the safety factors. The 2021 Saudi Arabian GP was a disaster in racing terms. It was the first-ever race at this very track.

The 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix compromised two red flags and many accidents. The drivers criticized the track. The president of the driver’s association George Russell has conveyed, “The circuit has many shortcomings in terms of safety and handling.”

Talking about the changes, the race organizers of Saudi Motorsport Corporation released a statement. It said, “It was confirmed beforehand that efforts will be made to increase visibility so that the drivers can better find the race lines. As part of these studies, the barriers at Turns 2, 3, 14 and 21 will be pulled back by 1.5 to 2 meters. Similarly, the barrier on the right of Turn 27 will be pulled back about 1.5m at this point to widen the runway. Except at Turn 27, there will be no change in the runway boundaries”

“Additionally, more changes will be made at Turns 4, 16, 22, and 24 after consulting with drivers who have requested a softer barrier at the apex to be able to drive at the borders. To adapt to this, we are installing steel plates that will effectively wrap the concrete barriers, providing the smooth surface that drivers need to opt for race lines” the statements further stated.

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What happened at the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP?

In the initial laps of the race, Mick Schumacher lost the backend of his Haas and hit the barrier. This first brought out a yellow flag and then a red flag. As the race started for the second time, there came the second red flag. Another Haas driver, Nikita Mazepin hit George Russell of Williams from behind to bring the race to the halt, again. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez was also affected due to this, hampering the battle for Constructor’s Championship for Red Bull.

The main cause of these changes were the tight turns and the blind spots in the circuit. These blind spots caught many drivers during the ongoing Grand Prix. The drivers suffered crashes both during qualifying and race day including Max Verstappen.

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