Saudi Arabia’s effort to make the Jeddah Corniche Circuit the fastest street track in Formula 1 has not gone down well with Max Verstappen. The Red Bull star was unimpressed despite the country paying a whopping $500 million to make it one of the most stunning venues in motorsport. Verstappen, who recently won the race in Jeddah, spoke about the risk factor that comes with such a track.
Verstappen said in an interview with Viaplay, “[Jeddah] is really nice to drive but I’m aware of how dangerous the layout is. If you have a tiny moment in the high-speed corners, it can go very wrong. So I feel like it’s waiting for a huge accident to happen. That’s why I find it a bit hard to come here. Maybe I find it a bit too high risk.”
Jeddah Corniche Circuit shines bright #SaudiArabianGP | #F1 pic.twitter.com/87pK5Ahj9P
— Ministry of Sport (@mosgovsa_en) March 8, 2024
Before the Dutchman, multiple drivers also pointed out the risk factors at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. Sergio Perez, back in 2022, labeled the track as the “most dangerous place.” Meanwhile, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz questioned the need to host races at this venue and whether it was worth taking such a risk.
According to Zhou Guanyu, the exit at turn 10 can cause cars to bottom out and crash. This led him to call the Jeddah Corniche Circuit a “dangerous” and “brutal” track to race.
Meanwhile, Max Verstappen also went on to explain why the Jeddah Corniche Circuit is less risky than the track in Monaco. The three-time world champion believes that the track in Monaco at least has a much lower average speed when compared to Jeddah.
Max Verstappen and Red Bull dominated the 2024 Saudi Arabian GP
Saudi Arabia hosted the fourth edition of the Grand Prix recently at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. Jeddah received the opportunity to host the race after the organizing committee paid F1 $55 million.
For the race that just went by, Red Bull claimed an outstanding 1-2 finish. Max Verstappen won the race, while Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc finished on the podium. The race was arguably not the most interesting as Red Bull once again dominated, and there was also a lack of overtaking moves.
Saudi Arabia has formally announced its new Qiddiya racing circuit, which features a 20-storey-high opening corner and is due to host the country’s Formula 1 grand prix.
Since the country joined the F1 calendar for 2021, it has used the high-speed Jeddah street circuit on the… pic.twitter.com/IDzQ6rxNtQ
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) March 5, 2024
While Jeddah has hosted a few races now, Saudi Arabia reportedly has a plan to build another track in Qiddiya. The ambitious project will have a 108-meter tall ramp just at the end of turn 1.
Reports further claim that famous F1 architect Hermann Tilke and former F1 driver and two-time Le Mans winner Alex Wurz will design the track. The Qiddiya circuit is expected to be the longest F1 circuit and would get past the 4.35 miles of the Spa-Franchorchamps track of Belgium.
