The Jeddah Corniche Circuit hosted the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix just a few months ago, in the penultimate round of the 2021 Formula 1 season. However, the venue was highly criticized by several drivers as a result of the number of blind corners on a high-speed street track.
The 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was interrupted by two red flags and a number of incident, determining GPDA director George Russell to tell Motorsport.com that the track was “lacking a lot from a safety perspective and a racing perspective”.
In just one month, Saudi Arabia will once again host a Formula 1 race, which will serve as the second round of the new championship. host its second grand prix in four months on 27 March, serving as the second round of the season. Martin Whitaker, chief executive of the Saudi Arabian GP, admitted a few weeks ago that changes would take place in order for the track to aid driver visibility.
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With one month to go until the next Formula 1, more updates have been provided on which turns will be adjusted to improve sight lines by moving barriers and widening the circuit in several areas:
“It has already been confirmed that some minor tweaks will be made to the circuit to help improve driver sight lines from the cockpit by improving visibility in several of the circuit’s corners including Turns 2, 3, 14 and 21 where the barriers will be moved back between 1.5m and 2m,” reads a statement from Saudi Motorsport Company, the race promoter – “Likewise, the barrier on the right-hand side of Turn 27 will be moved back by around 1.5m to widen the track at this point. In all cases except Turn 27, the track limit/edge will remain the same. In addition, further modifications will also be made to Turns 4, 16, 22 and 24 after consultation with the drivers who requested a smoother barrier on the apex so that they can potentially brush it as they pass. To accommodate this, SMC is installing a steel plate which will effectively wrap around the concrete barriers given them the smooth surface they require to favour the lines the drivers take around the record-breaking course.” – the statement informs.
The blind corners on the track made it difficult for many drivers during the grand prix weekend in 2021, especially in the practice and qualifying sessions when they were on a mix of fast and slow laps.
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The second red flag of the race was caused by a crash involving George Russell and Nikita Mazepin exiting Turn 2. Russell took evasive action in order to avoid a clash between Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, which blocked the majority of the circuit, but Mazepin ran into the rear of the Williams through the blind corner.
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