Formula One has revealed the first images of a stunning new street circuit in Jeddah ahead of the first Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in 2021… but fans have hit back by slamming the decision to hold a race in the Kingdom.
It was first revealed back in November that Saudi Arabia would pay £50million a year in a huge 10-year deal to host F1, but the announcement was met by outrage from Amnesty International, which called on Lewis Hamilton and his fellow drivers to condemn the Gulf kingdom’s documented abuses.
And the latest pictures and videos of the circuit – which will be the fastest ever F1 track with an average speed of over 155mph – have once again attracted anger from fans, who slammed F1 for heading to the country.
Formula One is set to head to Jeddah for a speedy night race at the end of the 2021 season
Saudi Arabia are paying £50m a year to host F1 and the new track plans have been revealed
It has been met with anger by F1 fans, one of which changing the ‘We Race As One’ slogan
One fan, playing on F1’s ‘We Race as One’ slogan, posted a picture claiming ‘We Race for Money’, while another joked that the commentators would be shouting: ‘Rights out and away we go’ instead of the traditional ‘lights out’.
Additionally, one Twitter user quoted F1’s tweet promoting the circuit and changed the words to write: ‘No women’s rights, LGBT discrimination, dictatorship in 2021, exhilarating public executions, minimal audience. This is Jeddah. This is the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.’
The circuit itself will hold the penultimate race of the 2021 season, and features 27 high-speed corners as F1 once again opts for an ultra-fast track.
The likes of Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso will race at average speeds of 155mph with a stunning backdrop of the Red Sea alongside the track.
Racing under floodlights, drivers will work their way around the 6.175km circuit, which is located in Corniche, around 12km north of the city centre. There are three potential DRS zones, too.
Formula One managing director Ross Brawn said: ‘The design brings out the best of a modern street circuit but also has fast paced free flowing areas that will create fast speeds and overtaking opportunities.
‘The setting is incredible, on the Red Sea, and we can’t wait to see the cars on the track in December.’
But despite F1’s excitement surrounding the big reveal, it was met with widespread criticism as fans once again vented their anger at the decision to head to Saudi Arabia.
One F1 supporter joked that ‘lights out and away we go’ would be changed to ‘rights out’
Another Twitter user reworded F1’s tweet praising the new circuit to condemn Saudi Arabia
Another F1 fan confirmed that they wouldn’t be watching – and ‘I’m not the only one’
Following the announcement at the end of last year, Amnesty hit out at the decision, calling it an attempt to sportswash their ‘abysmal’ human rights record following the state’s recent links with Newcastle United and other high profile sports.
‘A Saudi Grand Prix in 2021 is just part of extensive ongoing efforts by the Saudi authorities to sportswash their abysmal human rights record,’ Felix Jakens, Amnesty International UK’s head of campaigns, said at the time.
‘With critics of the government either jailed, exiled or hounded into silence, the Saudi authorities have pursued a twin-track approach of crushing human rights while throwing large amounts of money at glittering sporting events.
‘It isn’t just motor racing – it’s golf, boxing, tennis, horse racing and of course the attempt to buy Newcastle United Football Club.’
In addition the organisation called on Lewis Hamilton and his fellow drivers to speak out against the race, which is set to take place on December 5.
Jeddah’s street circuit has 27 corners with an average speed of over 250kmph for the F1 drivers
The circuit is being built ahead of the December 5 debut, the penultimate race on the calendar
Held in Corniche, around 12km north of the city centre, there are three potential DRS zones
The Saudi state has come under severe criticism recently away from sport following the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
Khashoggi’s killers described him as ‘an animal to be sacrificed’ in secret recordings taken inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul minutes before he died.
Khashoggi, a former Saudi regime insider turned critic, had gone to the consulate that day in order to sign marriage papers so he could wed his partner, Hatice Cengiz. Instead he was dragged into a back room where he was killed while she waited for him outside.
Saudi Arabia has admitted Khashoggi’s killing was a premeditated act carried out by government agents, but said they were ‘rogue elements’ who acted without official authorisation.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has previously been linked with a bid to buy Newcastle United before the potential takeover collapsed last year
Amnesty International called on drivers including Lewis Hamilton to speak out on the state’s record in regards to human rights