JEDDAH — The Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix will be returning to Jeddah, home to the world’s fastest street circuit, on 17-19 March 2023.

The pinnacle of motorsport’s third visit to Saudi Arabia will be the second race on the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship calendar released Wednesday.

The motorsport is returning to the Kingdom early in the new season when the championship will be wide open.

Fans will once more be able to sit in the grandstands along the Red Sea coast and watch their drivers take on the thrilling Jeddah Corniche Circuit — the fastest and longest street circuit in the world — as they go wheel to wheel at average speeds of up to 252km/h.

Saudi Arabia is one of the newest venues on the Formula 1 calendar, having hosted its debut race in December 2021 and its second race just four months later in March 2022. Both editions proved to be most exciting races in recent memory, providing some of the most iconic and breathtaking moments of on-track action of their respective seasons.

In 2021, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen battled it out with 7-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton during a high-speed, action-fueled race that ended with the Mercedes driver clinching a hard-fought victory that left both title contenders level on points ahead of the season finale.

In 2022, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Verstappen had everyone on the edge of their seats in a nail-biting race to the finish line that saw the Monegasque driver concede the race to the World Champion with just three laps to go. — SG