Saudi Arabia planning to host 2 F1 races from 2026 season

Saudi Arabia are planning to host two F1 races by the 2026 season. The track at Jeddah is where the season-ending race is held before the new state-of-the-art facility at Qiddiya near Riyadh is complete.

The facility will be functional by the 2026 season, but with Jeddah getting a lot of investments, Saudi Arabia’s minister for sport HRH Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al-Faisal has expressed interest in keeping Jeddah as well when Qiddiya gets an F1 race.

When asked by Motorsport.com about the possibility of having two races in the country, the minister did not rule out the possibility. He even kept the door open for alternating the races between the two locations in case the two-race proposal doesn't go through. He said:

"We won't say no. We really see the benefits of having these events for the Kingdom, and that's why we're investing so much. Maybe you're focused more on sports, but we're doing the same in culture, and entertainment and even exhibitions, and a lot of things that that we look at. We definitely could host two races already for that. But I think that's something that we have to discuss with F1 and see how it goes. But we definitely would love to have that.”

He added:

“That's happened in Germany, between Nurburgring and Hockenheim. So that could be an option. It will be an iconic place to have an F1 race, with a theme park that's next to it. We think it's a good transition (from Jeddah), because it's a totally different environment. So you won't have two races that are the same in one region: in Jeddah, it's by the sea. But when you go to the other, it is the desert, it's more of a different vibe to it."

The minister also added that the project at Qiddiya is going to be huge, and it will not only feature F1 but also MotoGP races as well. While the track in Jeddah is not suited to MotoGP, the track in Qiddiya could accommodate both. Al-Faisal said:

“Qiddiya is a huge project. Hopefully they finish on time. So it could finish plus or minus, within their targets. But if it does, then that's the idea to move there. But definitely the MotoGP will be there because we can't host the MotoGP in Jeddah.”

---

Increasing Middle East presence in F1 calendar

The ever-growing F1 calendar has had an increasing presence in the Middle East. Qatar has made an appearance and so has Saudi Arabia. The season starts in Bahrain and ends in Abu Dhabi.

The race in Jeddah earlier this season attracted controversy, as the Aramco site a few kilometers away was attacked by a missile. It's going to be interesting to see if F1 adds another race in Saudi Arabia.