Not content with merely hosting a round of the world championship, Saudi Arabia is seeking to become a motorsport hub as it targets attracting teams to the region.
In 2018, F1 MD Ross Brawn was adamant when talking to reporters that a Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was unlikely due to the country’s record on Human Rights.
A year later, plans for a circuit in the city of Qiddiya were announced, with former driver, and GPDA chairman, Alex Wurz, one of the driving forces behind the project.
The Austrian subsequently appeared at an official event in January 2020 to reveal details of the proposed track along with a number of current F1 drivers, and while the track was being designed to the requisite Grade 1 standard, F1 still denied talk of a Grand Prix.
Nonetheless, nine months later, in October 2020, Saudi Arabia featured on the provisional race schedule for 2021, and the following month it was confirmed that the event would take place in Jeddah.
“It’s a fantastic platform which gives Saudi Arabia a wonderful opportunity on the world stage to change the perceptions about the Kingdom,” said event CEO, Martin Whitaker. “A lot of people know very little about the country and as a result the idea they have is very different from when they get to experience it for themselves.
“The government has a Vision 2030 scheme,” he added, “which has a dual purpose to encourage tourism and to develop a more inclusive society.”
Indeed, securing the race was part of Vision 2030, an ambitious program aimed at inspiring the people of Saudi Arabia through sport.
“Saudi Arabia is accelerating forward and the speed, energy, excitement of Formula 1 perfectly reflects the transformational journey the country is on,” explained His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz Bin Turki AlFaisal Al Saud, the Minister of Sport. “As we’ve witnessed in recent years our people want to be at the very heart of the biggest moments in live sport and entertainment. And they don’t come any bigger than Formula 1. No matter where in the world it’s held, Formula 1 is an event that brings people together to celebrate an occasion that goes far beyond sport. We look forward to sharing this unique experience and sharing Jeddah with the world. For many Saudis this will be a dream come true.
“Sport is one area driving a massive transformation of the country through Vision 2030,” he continued, “and we are making incredible progress in inspiring our communities to get involved. Community participation underpins all our major events and in simple terms more people are taking part in more sports than ever before whether young or old, boys or girls.Looking ahead and thanks to the support of the Quality of Life initiative, Formula 1 is another chance for us to drive forward these positive developments across the community and provide even more opportunities to enrich lives and embrace new experiences together.”
The Grand Prix was the latest addition to a roster of international motor sport events that include Formula E, the Dakar Rally and Extreme E, not to mention golf’s European Tour and Ladies European Tour, WWE, international tennis, FEI equestrian championships and the Saudi Cup , the world’s richest horse race.
Indeed, since that first Grand Prix, Saudi Arabia has added MotoGP to its impressive line-up, and is hopeful of securing a round of the WRC by 2024.
However, other than hosting events, Saudi Arabia is looking to become a motor sport hub, and as it eyes Britain’s motorsport valley, which plays host to seven of the current F1 teams, it is seeking to tempt the likes of McLaren and Aston Martin to relocate.
“We want to create a hub,” Prince Khalid Bin Sultan Al Faisal, president of the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation, tells Motor Sport. “We have big companies that can help the future of motor sport.”
A minority shareholder in the McLaren Group, the parent company of McLaren Racing, Saudi Arabia is the second largest stakeholder in Aston Martin’s road car division.
Asked if he is hoping to attract teams to his country, Prince Khalid admits: “This is what we are hoping for. This is what we are working for. Hopefully we can bring one of the big manufacturers.
“With all the investing we are doing in cars, the private investment fund bought shares in McLaren and Aston Martin, we are heading that way,” he continues. “Hopefully we can open and bring headquarters to Saudi Arabia or we hire people that can help us manufacture cars or technology, to create our own brands and have our own IPs.
“We have a 20-year program that hopefully will launch at the end of ’23, early ’24,” he adds. “Our aim is not just to host international events, we want to be involved more. We want to have engineers, we want to have mechanics, we want to build cars, we want to be creative.
“We really want to have a champion, a driver that can compete in the championship for Formula 1, who can compete in MotoGP.
“We are investing a lot in infrastructures, in building tracks in Saudi Arabia. We want to build academies so we can be more involved: Saudi teams with Saudi drivers or other drivers to race in Saudi teams. It’s still a long way ahead but hopefully by 2030, 2035, 2040 we can achieve our goals.”
