Formula 1: Saudi Arabia track goes through some changes: Changes made to the Saudi Arabia Formula 1 circuit in Jeddah could make the track even faster. Saudi Arabia last hosted its first F1 race in December at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. It got both praised and criticized by the drivers and the fans. Follow Formula 1 and F1 2022 updates on Insidesport.IN.
Formula 1: Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah circuit undergoes some key changes in 2022 after last year’s criticism, find out
Martin Whitaker, the CEO of the Saudi Motorsport Company thought the changes made to the circuit would make the track quicker. Last year’s average speed for pole position in qualifying was 157 mph. Martin said, “The footprint of the circuit remains the same, apart from Turn 27.”
“We’ve just moved some of the barriers back a little bit in certain areas so it improves the sightline through that corner. It could make the lap a little bit quicker, one imagines. If it’s not fast enough already. Most of the changes have effectively been done this year. I think we’ve effected between seven and 10 of the changes they were looking for. The rest will take a little bit longer.”
“For example, the sightline on the inside of Turn 23/24 is a bigger task. We just didn’t have the time to do that. That’s one area where I think the FIA race director can help in terms of telling the driver to be wary when they’re going through, or not slow down there when on a qualifying lap.”
The second Grand Prix in Jeddah takes place this month. The officials confirmed in January that they would be making tweaks to the track. This decision was taken after considering drivers’ feedback.
A number of corners have been installed with steel plates to create shoulders. This will allow the cars to kiss the barriers more in places without damaging their car.
Saudi Arabia #F1 circuit tweaks could make the Jeddah track even faster thanks to sightline improvements and widening the final corner ↔️
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— Autosport (@autosport) March 14, 2022
A number of drivers reported issues with the sightlines around the track. GPDA chairman and then-Williams driver, George Russell said, “The circuit was lacking a lot from a safety perspective and a racing perspective.”
Formula 1 Track changes: Changes made to the Saudi Arabia F1 circuit could make the track even faster – Check Out
Formula 1 Track changes: How FIA can advise the drivers in the briefing
Martin Whitaker explained there were 12 to 15 points around the circuit that FIA and F1 asked the promoters to have a look at. They were mainly focusing on the sightlines ahead of this year’s Grand Prix.
Martin further added, “The speed of the circuit is such that drivers were arriving very quickly on slower cars. I think the main issue there was not so much the race. But more in qualifying, where you’ve got cars backing off to take advantage of a decent lap.”
“The FIA can do things about them obviously because in the drivers’ briefing they can tell people they can’t slow down in certain corners or around certain areas. But predominantly, it was felt much better for us as the promoter and the organizers of the circuit to look at what we could do.”
The first race will take place in Bahrain on 20th March followed by the Saudi Arabia GP on 27th March.
Formula 1 Track changes: Changes made to the Saudi Arabia F1 circuit could make the track even faster – Check Out
