Saudi Arabia’s New F1 Track Is Straight Out Of A Video Game

F1 fans who despair at the way the modern sport seems to put money and spectacle ahead of racing may want to look away now. Saudi Arabia has released images of its planned purpose-built Grand Prix circuit, designed to replace the current Jeddah street circuit, and bits of it look more likely to host a race featuring a banana-wielding moustachioed Italian plumber than any of the current F1 field.

The track is planned to form one of the centrepieces of Qiddiya, an enormous under-construction entertainment and tourism centre that’ll also incorporate a Six Flags theme park. The proposed layout has 21 turns and, while details like length haven’t been provided, previous reports have suggested that it’ll be the longest track on the calendar, exceeding the 4.35 miles of the current longest, Spa-Francorchamps.

It’s some of the specific corners that are really the centrepieces, though, particularly turn one. Named ‘The Blade’, it’s planned to rise 108 metres – around six stories – from the start line, on a giant cantilevered platform that extends out above a live music venue. Other bits of track are also visible crossing enormous bridges or weaving between huge hotels, and at one point, a high-speed rollercoaster is planned to run alongside the circuit.

The layout has been penned by Hermann Tilke, who’s designed nearly all of the F1 tracks of the modern era and often comes under criticism for the dull, processional races his courses often create (in his defence, much of this is also likely a result of the FIA’s regulations – look at his non-F1 projects like Magarigawa, Bilster Berg or Aragón to see what we mean).

It’s not known yet when the Qiddiya circuit is planned to debut on the calendar, but it’s clearly a while off – most reports earmark 2027 at the earliest. Like it or not, this is a circuit emblematic of modern F1. We’re a long way from the days of laying out some hay bales on a blustery airfield.