Despite media reports that say there is a lot of work left to be done, Formula One’s governing body has said it is confident Saudi Arabia will be ready for its grand prix debut next month, multiple sources told Reuters.
The race is set to run at night under the lights in Jeddah on December 5th, 2021. Although officials say there is still “a lot to do” to complete the track, they are confident that the work will be done in time for the global premiere of the F1 in Saudi Arabia.
“The FIA and F1 are getting daily updates of where things are at and it’s progressing very, very quickly,” FIA race director Michael Masi told reporters after last weekend’s Mexico City Grand Prix, according to a Reuters story. “I think everyone will acknowledge there’s a lot to do but still confident of the race going ahead, no problems.”
According to that report, Masi said he “had visited Jeddah a few weeks ago and his past experience of new races in South Korea (in 2010) and India (2011), both now off the calendar, gave him confidence.”
“Both of those went off, no problems at all, and I’m quite confident that Saudi will be exactly the same,” he said.
The floodlit circuit will run over 6.175km (3.8 miles), the second longest on the calendar, and will feature 27 corners.
Ticket prices are high for the event, which will see a full crowd. Prices for tickets as of September were between 2,000 Saudi riyals ($533) and 35,000 Saudi riyals ($9,333).
“We’re expecting a huge turnout, especially from Europe and the United States,” Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Faisal, president of the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation, said in September.
According to Reuters, The Jeddah Corniche layout has been billed as the world’s fastest street circuit, with drivers expected to reach average speeds of 250kph and top speeds of 322kph.
