Saudi Arabia to unveil plans for F1 race in 2023

17:54 • 17.01.20
Sports

Saudi Arabia has unveiled detailed plans for a new race track that is poised to host Formula 1 from 2023, BBC Sport reports.

The Qiddiyah circuit is part of a new entertainment and sports complex outside the capital Riyadh, designed by ex-F1 driver Alexander Wurz.

Chief executive officer Mike Reininger told BBC Sport the track would be "ready" to host a Grand Prix in 2023.

"We're building a facility in the hope there will be a deal struck and there is a race here in Saudi," he said.

Reininger said negotiations were ongoing between Saudi authorities and F1, adding: "The formalisation of a race is not for us at Qiddiyah. It is outside the confines of the project itself. But we are building a facility that will be able to host a really world-class event as one of the signature items we will have on offer here at Qiddiyah as we open in 2023."

Reininger said he was "not specifically engaged in (the talks with F1) day to day" and that they were "mostly being driven by the general sports authority and the motorsports federation".

Insiders say no deal for Saudi Arabia to host a Grand Prix has yet been finalised but it is an effective fait accompli. F1 declined to comment on the prospect.

The Qiddiyah track was unveiled at an event on Friday, where the circuit was demonstrated on a simulator.

Damon Hill, the 1996 F1 world champion, was among the guests, along with ex-F1 drivers David Coulthard and Nico Hulkenberg, current Haas F1 racer Romain Grosjean and former MotoGP rider Loris Capirossi.

The track is FIA Grade One standard, capable of hosting both F1 and MotoGP, and is part of what Reininger described as "a bigger universe of motorsport activities".

 

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