Jeddah tweaks circuit to improve 'sight-line' and safety

Saudi Arabia's Jeddah circuit that hosted the country's maiden F1 Grand Prix is tweaking its layout in a bid to improve the track's safety in its final sector.

While F1's drivers gave the new venue a thumbs up when they took to the track at last month's inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, there were also concerns voiced by several drivers ahead of the race over the circuit's final sector that features a string of fast sweeps and blind corners.

Unfortunately, those worries proved valid on race day.

On the second restart, as the field barreled into Turn 3, a contact between Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez sent the Red Bull driver spinning amid the pack.

An unsighted George Russell arrived on the scene and hit the brakes only to be collected from behind by the Haas of Nikita Mazepin who was caught out by the commotion in the blind corner.

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix boss Martin Whitaker has revealed that changes to the track will be implemented ahead of F1's return to Jeddah in March.

"We have been striving to improve on some areas for our second event," he explained. "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."

Jeddah's venue was built in record time last year and parts of the circuit's infrastructure remained unfinished F1's inaugural event. Whitaker says completions and improvements will be put in place for the sport's return in two months.

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"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," said the Briton.

"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," Whitaker added.

"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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