The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix ( ar, جائزة السعودية الكبرى) is a
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
motor racing event which took place for the first time in
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...
. The inaugural edition of the race was held in
Jeddah, in
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
. It was the fifth full-night race title on the Formula One calendar, following the
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
,
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
,
Sakhir
Sakhir ( ) is a desert area located in the Southern Governorate of Bahrain, near Zallaq. It contains the Al-Sakhir Palace, built in 1870.
Camping in Sakhir during the winter months is a popular activity in the country.
Notable sites
In the ear ...
and
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
Grands Prix.
History
In August 2019, plans for a permanent motorsports complex to be built in the city of
Qiddiya were made public. The project was conceived by Test and Training International, a motorsports consultancy headed by former Formula One driver
Alexander Wurz
Alexander Georg Wurz (born 15 February 1974) is an Austrian former professional racing driver, driver training expert and businessman. He competed in Formula One from until , and is also a two-time winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours.
He is current ...
, with the objective of creating a world-class circuit capable of hosting all FIA categories through to Formula One. In January 2020, plans for a race track in Qiddiya were officially confirmed at an event, where track designer Wurz appeared alongside current and former Formula One drivers who were given the opportunity to drive on the layout in a racing simulator. During the event, it was confirmed that the track was designed to
FIA
FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used.
Fia or FIA may also refer to: People
* Fia Backs ...
and FIM Grade 1 standards. At the time, Formula One declined to comment on the possibility of a race.
The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix first appeared on the first draft of the Formula One provisional calendar, which was shown to teams at a Formula One Commission meeting, held in October 2020. The draft calendar saw all 22 races from the original calendar carried over, with the addition of Saudi Arabia. In November 2020, it was announced that the city of
Jeddah would host the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, in collaboration with the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation, and the Jeddah Corniche Circuit would be located along the shore of the
Red Sea
The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...
.
In October 2022, Saudi Arabia's minister of sport
Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Saud
Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Saud (born 4 June 1983), also known as Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal, is a former Saudi racing driver and businessman as well as a member of the House of Saud. Prince Abdulaziz is the minister of sports appointed by King S ...
expressed interest in having both Jeddah and Qiddiya host annual Formula One races or for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix to alternate between the two venues, once the Qiddiya track opens.
Criticism
The Grand Prix has received criticism from
Amnesty International on the grounds of
human rights in Saudi Arabia
Human rights in Saudi Arabia are a topic of concern and controversy. The Saudi government, which mandates both Muslim and non-Muslim observance of Islamic law under the absolute rule of the House of Saud, has been accused of and denounced by var ...
.
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
also condemned the decision arguing that "it is part of a cynical strategy to distract from Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses". Formula One responded by saying that "
ormula One hasmade our position on human rights and other issues clear to all our partners and host countries who commit to respect human rights in the way their events are hosted and delivered" and that "
ormula One hasworked hard to be a positive force everywhere it races, including economic, social and cultural benefits". According to Human Rights Watch, the Grand Prix and other sports events are being used by Saudi Arabia to distract people from serious human rights abuses. The Global Initiative Director at Human Rights Watch, Minky Worden, called upon Formula One to assess situation in Saudi Arabia and insist on releasing women's rights defenders who spoke in favour of women's right to drive. In February 2021, 45 human rights organizations called on
Lewis Hamilton
Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Mercedes. In Formula One, Hamilton has won a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Mic ...
to boycott the Grand Prix, citing among other factors Saudi Arabia's role in the
Yemeni Civil War and
the assassination of ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' journalist
Jamal Khashoggi
Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi (; ar, جمال أحمد خاشقجي, Jamāl ʾAḥmad Ḵāšuqjī, ; 13 October 1958 – 2 October 2018) was a Saudi journalist, dissident, author, columnist for ''Middle East Eye'' and ''The Washington Post'', and a ge ...
. Saudi Arabia has denied the Grand Prix was being used for sportswashing, arguing that the race forms part of the country's efforts to open itself up to the outside world. The event received criticism from human rights groups. Many accused the Arab nation and its Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of "sportswashing" their image. It was claimed that Saudi Arabia was stepping into some of the biggest sport events to cover its human rights violations.
Following the
missile interception in
Diriyah
Diriyah ( ar, الدِرْعِيّة), formerly romanized as Dereyeh and Dariyya), is a town in Saudi Arabia located on the north-western outskirts of the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Diriyah was the original home of the Saudi royal family, and served ...
during the
2021 Diriyah ePrix
The 2021 Diriyah ePrix (officially the 2021 ABB FIA Formula E Diriyah ePrix) was a pair of Formula E electric car races held at the Riyadh Street Circuit in the town of Diriyah, north-west of Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia on 26 and 27 February 202 ...
, questions were raised about the event's viability. Formula One later stated that they would never go to high security risk areas, though they also stated that they had "every confidence that the Saudi government and its agencies have both the technology and capability to ensure this safety and security". During the 2021 race,
Lewis Hamilton
Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Mercedes. In Formula One, Hamilton has won a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Mic ...
wore a rainbow-coloured helmet, showing his support for the
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term ...
community and showed that he wanted the rules on people in the
LGBT community to change in Saudi Arabia. He also wore this helmet in the previous and following race.
The
2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was impacted by the
Saudi-led war on Yemen.
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
’s Houthi rebels carried out a missile attack on an
Aramco
Saudi Aramco ( ar, أرامكو السعودية '), officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (formerly Arabian-American Oil Company) or simply Aramco, is a Saudi Arabian public petroleum and natural gas company based in Dhahran. , it is one of ...
oil depot (approximately from the circuit), causing an explosion, during the first of two practice sessions. The incident highlighted risks for the race, with drivers, such as
Lewis Hamilton
Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Mercedes. In Formula One, Hamilton has won a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Mic ...
, raising concerns over the event’s safety. After discussions lasting several hours, an agreement was reached to hold the event. Besides the attack, there were serious questions over the years of human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia. The authoritative regime was criticised for its continued repression of dissidents, particularly in light of the
mass execution of 81 people two weeks before the race.
Circuit
Named as the 'fastest street track' on the Formula One calendar, with Formula One cars averaging around , the track is the second longest on the
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
calendar behind
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. The circuit is located on the
Jeddah Corniche, adjoining the Red Sea. It was designed by Carsten Tilke, son of the famed circuit designer,
Hermann Tilke
Hermann Tilke (born 31 December 1954, in Olpe, Germany) is a German engineer, racing driver and circuit designer, who has designed numerous Formula One motor racing circuits.
Racing
During the 1980s, Tilke competed in touring car racing, mainly ...
.
In
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix race and qualifying are both held during the night, under the lights where the temperatures are substantially cooler than the day. The
Formula 2
Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name re ...
race is held during the day and two of the three
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
practice sessions are held during daytime and high track temperatures.
Winners
By year
All Saudi Arabian Grands Prix were held at the
Jeddah Corniche Circuit
The Jeddah Corniche Circuit ( ar, حلبة كورنيش جدة) is a motor racing circuit built in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia. The circuit staged the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on 5 December 2021 as the penultimate ...
.
References
{{Formula One races
Formula One Grands Prix
National Grands Prix
Formula One controversies
Recurring sporting events established in 2021
2021 establishments in Saudi Arabia