FIA approves Jeddah circuit, as Max eyes his first ever Championship title

The Jeddah Corniche Circuit will host its first-ever Grand Prix race on Sunday. It has been given the FIA Grade 1 homologation which is needed to host a Formula 1 race, just a day before on-track action begins. The circuit has been built from scratch, rather than using an existing road network in use. F1 race director and safety delegate Michael Masi completed his latest and final observation of the track today in the morning (2nd December). He confirmed that the Jeddah Circuit had met the standards needed to race for Formula 1.

“It has been an impressive journey for all involved to make the first FIA F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix a reality, and the progress that I have seen on each of my visits over recent months has been remarkable,” Masi said.

Homologation of the circuit has also confirmed there will be three areas where the Drag Reduction System will be used, and that it will be a 27-corner layout.

Currently, Max Verstappen leads the table with 351.5 points, who is 8 points ahead of Lewis Hamilton with 343.5 points. With 2 races remaining, the championship is well poised at the moment. Lewis Hamilton is the reigning champion and has won 4 titles on the trot to equal Michael Schumacher’s record of 7 championship titles. Everyone has their eyes on Max Verstappen who is fighting for his first-ever title, Can the new-gen outwit the veteran and run away with the title this weekend?

Free practice begins at 4:30 pm local time on Friday, while the race takes place under floodlights at 8:30 pm local time on Sunday.