JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — More changes have been made to the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix course, ahead of next season’s event, March 17-19.
The circuit modifications have been made in cooperation with track designers Tilke GmbH after consultation with the FIA, F-1 and drivers with a view to further improving driver sight at specific sections of the circuit and refashioning various curbs, in line with new recommendations brought about after the introduction of the new F-1 cars at the beginning of this year.
One of the most significant changes is the addition of rumble lines at turns 3, 14, 19, 20 & 21. A rumble line can be defined as an adhesive on the ground similar to ones used on highways giving the driver notice that they are out of lane – in F-1 terms this effectively ‘shakes’ the car which causes traction to be lost, subsequently slowing it down. Moreover, bevelled curbs have also been added in place of steel ones at turns 4, 8, 10, 11, 17 & 23.
To further improve driver sight and visibility, turns 14 & 20 have seen the shifting of the fence wall on the right and left hand sides respectively by 7.5m (turn 14) & 5m (turn 20) with an additional rumble line implemented in the verge between the white line and fence wall. Additionally, the fence wall has been adjusted at turns 8 & 10 to give drivers more visibility of the turn ahead.
Finally, turns 22 & 23 – one of the main action sequences on the circuit – has seen its ‘S’ shape squeezed via the adjustment of the fence at turn 23 and addition of a bevelled curb with the aim of slowing down the drivers by approximately 50km/h.