Organisers of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix have revealed tweaks to the Jeddah circuit will be made ahead of the 2022 race amid concerns over poor visibility in the final sector.
Saudi Arabia held its first Formula 1 race last year, with its high-speed layout delivering an action-packed grand prix.
But in the wake of the event, several drivers voiced their concerns over the safety of the circuit, particularly in the last section.
The lack of visibility at some corners was raised over the weekend, with several near misses throughout practice and qualifying where drivers came across a slower car whilst on a flying lap.
In response to the fears over safety, the race’s CEO Martin Whitaker stressed work would be done to address these issues before its hosts the second round of the 2022 season in March.
“We have been striving to improve on some areas for our second event,” Whitaker explained, as quoted by Motorsport.com. “Firstly, there are going to be one or two slight changes to the track.
“These tweaks are directly related to a drivers’ sight-line from the cockpit. It’s minimal work, but it will help improve forward visibility in a couple of corners.
“Secondly, we will make some small modifications to the barriers that will favour the lines the drivers take around the course.”
Saudi Arabia’s grand prix chiefs made no secret of the limited timescale it had to build the Jeddah circuit, with the infrastructure not finished in time for last December’s race.
To ensure this year’s event runs more smoothly, there are plans to create a better experience for fans attending in 2022.
“There are a couple of areas that we are working on to enhance the experience for the fans who return to the track in March,” Whitaker added.
“We are planning on shifting some of the angles of the grandstands to improve visibility and, at the same time, we plan to increase the size and develop the Fan Zones, which proved to be extremely popular.
“We had to get the whole facility ready in a short space of time, but now with this small gap to our second race we are better placed to understand our limitations.
“Because of our location, we can’t change too much because the track is positioned on a narrow strip of land next to the sea, but we are certainly looking at the circuit’s entrance and exit.
“Due to the confines of the track’s location, traffic management was an issue and there were characteristics of the road system that created unnecessary delays.
“There are lessons we have learnt, and we have the time now to get these aspects resolved to make sure everyone who returns will have an equally good, if not better, experience.”
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