Plans for a future Saudi Arabian Grand Prix have officially been unveiled with the launch of the proposed Qiddiyah circuit on Friday.
The venue will be part of a wider entertainment and sports complex located around 45km west of Riyadh, with the design team being led by former Benetton and McLaren driver Alex Wurz, not Formula 1’s usual circuit architect Hermann Tilke.
To mark the launch, Wurz was joined by Haas driver Romain Grosjean, Nico Hulkenberg, David Coulthard, 1996 world champion Damon Hill and FIA race director Michael Masi in Saudi at the site where the track will be located.
InsideRacing first revealed plans for the event earlier this week, this after reports had suggested the Middle East kingdom was set to announce an F1 race as early as next year.
Instead, Qiddiyah CEO Mike Reininger also confirmed our report by stating a race Saudi Arabia won’t happen before 2023 at the earliest.
“We’re building a facility in the hope there will be a deal struck and there is a race here in Saudi,” he added, in comments to the BBC.
“The formalisation of a race is not for us at Qiddiyah, it is outside the confines of the project itself. But we are building a facility that will be able to host a really world-class event as one of the signature items we will have on offer here at Qiddiyah as we open in 2023.
“We are actually building a series of facilities both on-circuit and off-road in one aggregated place which really hasn’t been assembled anywhere else in the world like this. The centrepiece for us is going to be the [FIA] Grade One circuit.”
Commenting on what is the biggest project he has faced so far as a circuit designer, Wurz added: “It’s a privilege of a lifetime to design the motion and mobility zone in Qiddiyah, including the Speedpark track. The project offers us amazing opportunities to design a track, a true racing arena for the drivers and spectators.
“The design offers amazing elevation changes, making use of the stunning natural landscape. Equally, it is made to challenge drivers and engineers alike and, from our simulation runs, I can assure you it is absolutely thrilling as an on- and off-track experience.”