Saudi Arabia “would love” to hold two F1 races

The Middle Eastern country already hosts a grand prix at a street circuit in Jeddah, but that was always been viewed as an interim measure before its new state-of-the-art facility at Qiddiya near Riyadh in complete.

It is currently projected for Qiddiya to be ready in 2026, and the original plan had been for Saudi Arabia’s F1 race to permanently shift there.

However, Saudi Arabia’s minister for sport HRH Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al-Faisal has expressed some interest in keeping Jeddah as well when Qiddiya gets F1.

Asked about the possibility of two races in Saudi Arabia, Prince Abdulaziz said: “We won’t say no.

“We really see the benefits of having these events for the Kingdom, and that’s why we’re investing so much.

“Maybe you’re focused more on sports, but we’re doing the same in culture, and entertainment and even exhibitions, and a lot of things that that we look at. We definitely could host two races already for that. But I think that’s something that we have to discuss with F1 and see how it goes. But we definitely would love to have that.”

With the Jeddah facility having received huge investment, Saudi wants options to keep it up and running. Were its hopes of getting two races rejected, then another way forward could be for it to alternate the F1 race venue each year.

“That’s happened in Germany, between Nurburgring and Hockenheim,” added Prince Abdulaziz. “So that could be an option.”

Prince Abdulaziz said Qiddiya would offer a completely different experience to Jeddah, and was also being lined up for the country’s first MotoGP race.

“It will be an iconic place to have an F1 race, with a theme park that’s next to it,” he said.

“We think it’s a good transition [from Jeddah], because it’s a totally different environment. So you won’t have two races that are the same in one region: in Jeddah, it’s by the sea. But when you go to the other, it is the desert, it’s more of a different vibe to it.

“Qiddiya is a huge project. Hopefully they finish on time. So it could finish plus or minus, within their targets. But if it does, then that’s the idea to move there. But definitely the MotoGP will be there because we can’t host the MotoGP in Jeddah.”