Saudi Arabia races for Qiddiya
The war between the USA, Israel, and Iran has forced Formula 1 to redesign – sometimes in a rather creative way, as happened with the Bahrain GP which will take place in Malaysia in early October – the official calendar for the 2026 season, giving up the stage on the very fast city circuit of Jeddah. Despite the difficulties and the economic repercussions related to the conflict, Saudi Arabia is still moving forward quickly not so much to try to recover the GP this season, but for the original program of building a new futuristic circuit in the Qiddiya complex, a futuristic city currently in the design and construction phase that will rise among skyscrapers, stadiums, amusement parks, golf courses, and obviously also an F1 track. And new aerial images, after the latest updates last spring, now show how far the work has progressed.
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The incredible “The Blade” corner
The main focus is obviously on The Blade, that is the incredible turn-1 of the circuit under construction: it is an elevated corner that will take the record for the climb with the steepest gradient in Formula 1, displacing Eau Rouge and Raidillon of Spa and the first corner of the Austin track. In fact, the much-appreciated hairpin of the Circuit of the Americas seems to have inspired F1’s star architect Hermann Tilke (who also designed the Texas track). However, there is a small but huge difference: Qiddiya is located right in the middle of the desert and in a flat area and so the track artificially rises in altitude by actually climbing a structure as tall as a 20-story building, built specifically to generate this record elevation difference.
Moreover, underneath the futuristic “overpass” there is planned the creation of an accessible area which will probably be the main feature of the facility, with people able to walk about 70 meters below the Formula 1 cars. A video posted on social media in recent hours shows the progress of the work, with the turn-1 structure nearing completion, while in the remaining part of the track the layout design carved into the sand can be seen, which will make the Qiddiya Speed Park Track the longest circuit on the Formula 1 calendar.
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Aerial video pic.twitter.com/8oQrQhIS17
— ahmed baokbah 🇸🇦 🏎️🛩️ (@ahmed_baokbah) August 24, 2026
Between Jeddah and Qiddiya, the future of the Saudi GP
The track was designed with the consultancy of Alexander Wurz, the president of the GPDA, that is the “union” of Formula 1 drivers and should be ready to host the 2028 edition of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Given the progress of the work, there seems to be little doubt that the track will actually debut according to plan, while questions remain about the possibility that, after the canceled 2026 edition, F1 could actually return one last time to the Jeddah Corniche Circuit: the track should be on the calendar in the early phase of the 2027 season, between March and April, in its now traditional slot. But the possibility of racing the Saudi Arabian GP or not is still subject to the unpredictable developments of the conflict in the Persian Gulf, so much so that F1 is already preparing a possible plan B.
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