F1 News: Saudi Arabia's Half A Billion Dollar Qiddiya Circuit Goes Beyond F1 - "A Whole City"
Saudi Motorsport CEO Martin Whitaker has confirmed that the proposed half-a-billion dollar Qiddiya Circuit won't be just a Grand Prix race track but an entire city set to become an attraction for tourists and sports enthusiasts as a part of Saudi Arabia's 'Vision 2030' initiative.
Key Takeaways:
- Saudi Motorsport CEO Martin Whitaker reveals plans for the Qiddiya Circuit, a billion-dollar project aligned with Saudi Arabia's 'Vision 2030', aiming to be more than just a race track but a hub for tourism and sports.
- Whitaker expresses confidence in the project's success, citing its adaptability for various sports and strong commitment from Saudi Arabia.
- The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix will move to Qiddiya from the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, contributing to broader sports development initiatives.
Qiddiya Media
Whitaker affirmed that essential measures have been implemented to guarantee the project's success, as it aims to accommodate various sports. Furthermore, he underscored the administration's dedication to ensuring the project fulfills its commitments, drawing a contrast with South Korea's unsuccessful GP project in Mokpo, which faltered due to anticipated high costs.
The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is scheduled to move from the Jeddah Corniche Circuit to Qiddiya later this decade, given the USPs of the upcoming racetrack that will feature 21 corners with an elevation difference of 108 meters and three DRS zones, as well as a 70-meter incline to the first corner, dubbed the 'Blade'.
Speaking to RacingNews365, Whitaker affirmed that the project is "definitely happening" and mentioned its broader scope that goes beyond Formula 1. He stated:
"It's definitely happening.
"Using a Monopoly board analogy, we've got past 'Go', and when I say 'we', Saudi Motorsport will be the promoter of the race, as we are in Jeddah, and we will also be the operator of the circuit 365 days of the year.
"It's difficult at this moment in time to say exactly when we will race there. One of the prime considerations you've got to remember is that Qiddiya is not just a racing track, it's a whole city, like a huge theme park, in a sense.
"You've got other many sports, golf, soccer, motorsport, and you've got all the entertainment that goes with it, and then you've got residential, retail, hotels. It's the whole nine yards, a spectacular venue.
"When we've talked about it, we've always thought of Qiddiya as just being somewhere where we're going to go and stage Formula 1 in the future, but in actual fact, it's so much more than that.
"It's also important to consider that when it comes to staging a Formula 1 race in Qiddiya, everything's got to be right. You cannot run on a circuit that might be finished but where the infrastructure around it isn't. Essentially, everything needs to come together at the same time, which I'm sure it will."
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Highlighting the difference with other big projects that never fructified for the long term, like the one in South Korea or the Buddh International Circuit in India that hosted races for just three years, Whitaker praised the strong commitment of the Saudis. He added:
"The difference here is the commitment of the Saudis.
"Once they commit to doing something, that's it. It's happening. There's no turning back. They're going to achieve it.
"And the reason why Qiddiya is because it's one of these giga projects that they're doing in Saudi, which is evolving so rapidly.
"I came here six years ago and it was a completely different country to what it is today. One of the prime objectives of what's called 'Vision 2030' is tourism. Obviously, any country wants to attract tourism.
"Of course, very few people have really had much exposure to Saudi. People didn't travel to Saudi like they do today, and like they're going to in four or five years' time. It's rapidly evolving."
Qiddiya Media
Revealing other plans for the Qiddiya Circuit, he added:
"And Qiddiya is great because we'll have another circuit we can race on. In a sense, we've done all the high level stuff quite well. We've done Formula 1 reasonably well, we've done Extreme E, Formula E and Dakar Rally.
"Now we're starting to concentrate on growing the grassroots of the sport here in the Kingdom, and for me, that's almost more exciting for me because now we're starting to produce new race circuits, new kart tracks, new bike tracks, new off-road facilities, and we're starting to build academies for young people to come and race on.
"And it's not just about racing, it's about gaining engineers and technicians. We work really closely with local universities to make sure that these people have a potential career path. So that's what we're now concentrating on as well, and to have another circuit is great and will only help that cause."