Jeddah instead of Diriyah, but still at night - XXL preview of the Formula E races in Saudi Arabia

Formula E has visited Saudi Arabia every year since 2018. The electric series always raced in Diriyah on an extremely technical circuit that was a real favourite among the drivers. Formula E has moved for season 11 though: The Jeddah E-Prix will take place on the same circuit that Formula 1 has been racing on for several years - albeit on a short version. "Narrow and winding" will therefore become a real high-speed race. What's more, the first race with Pit Boost is finally on the horizon!

Where is Formula E racing this weekend?

Jeddah is located on the west coast of Saudi Arabia, directly at the coast of the Red Sea. It is the second largest city in the country and an economic hub. Almost 3.7 million people live in the port city, which aims to represent a combination of modernity and history: the historic old town of Al-Balad is already a World Heritage Site, and the tallest and most modern tower in the world is to be built in Jeddah in the future - the more than 1,000 metre high "Jeddah Tower".

The track itself, the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, is located directly on the shores of the Red Sea in the north of the city. The circuit was opened for Formula 1 in 2021. Formula E will now hold two night races on a shortened layout - as was previously the case in Diriyah.

Fast Stats | Jeddah

• The Jeddah Corniche Circuit is the 37th circuit to host a Formula E race.

• Jeddah is also the 34th city to host an E-Prix. The cities of Berlin, London and Santiago have each hosted two different circuits to date.

• After Monaco, Long Beach, Mexico City and Shanghai, Jeddah is the fifth circuit on which Formula 1 has already raced.

• Saudi Arabia is the sixth country after the USA, Switzerland, China, Mexico and Italy in which Formula E has raced in various cities.

• Fans will see the twelfth and 13th races in Saudi Arabia already. Only in Germany (20) and the USA (16) have more races taken place.

Who is broadcasting the Formula E races in Jeddah on TV & livestream?

The race weekend in Jeddah is scheduled as a "double-header" with two full days of racing. There will also be a rookie practice session on Thursday afternoon (CET) and the 1st free practice session. The race days will have an identical schedule: qualifying will take place shortly after midday and the race will start in the early evening at 6pm (CET).

The broadcasters for the race and qualifying will depend on your region. But as usual, e-Formula.news offers English-language live streams for both free practice sessions. On top of that, you can follow all sessions of the Jeddah E-Prix in our popular Formula E Live Ticker.

 
All data in Central European Time (CET)

What characterises the race track in Jeddah?

Jeddah is the fastest street circuit in Formula 1 and will bring this character to Formula E despite the changed layout. Instead of 27 corners, there will only be 19 next weekend, and as Formula E almost completely omits the usual first sector, the lap length is only 3,001 metres instead of six kilometres. Two chicanes have been placed on the start-finish straight to recover energy. In addition, the section of the track from turn 8 to 11 has been specially redesigned for Formula E.

Despite these modifications, the track remains very fast and has extremely long full-throttle sections. The section between turn 11 and the wide hairpin in turn 13 should be very interesting for overtaking, as the Attack Mode will have an extreme effect here. The Attack Zone is also located in turn 13.

Pit Boost for the first time!

The Pit Boost, which was originally due to make its debut at the start of the Gen3 era on 14 January 2023 in Mexico, will finally be used this season and will always play a role in one of the two "double-header" race days. At the Jeddah E-Prix, it is the first race on Friday. This means that there is a mandatory pit stop for the drivers, during which their car is charged by ten per cent in a minimum stop time of 34 seconds. You can find all further information on our Pit Boost info page.

In which order do the drivers start qualifying?

In Formula E, qualifying takes place in two sections: Group stage and knockout stage. For group qualifying, the driver field is initially divided into two halves, with all drivers in the odd-numbered championship positions (positions 1, 3, 5, 7, etc.) competing in Group A and the drivers in the even-numbered positions in Group B.

The four drivers with the fastest lap times in their group after twelve minutes will then move on to the quarter-finals, where they will duel for the best grid positions. The qualifying groups for the Jeddah race weekend are as follows.

What will the weather be like in Jeddah?

As expected, there should not be a drop of rain in Jeddah. Temperatures are expected to remain consistently above 20 degrees Celsius. More interesting will be the general condition of the track, as Formula 1 usually struggled with dust at the start of the weekend - especially for the rookies, who still have little experience and have to take to the track already on Thursday.

Who are the favourites?

The result of the "double-header" is even harder to predict due to the new track and the first-time use of Pit Boost. Energy efficiency will be more important than ever due to the immense full-power passages. Accordingly, a surprise winner in a permanently green-flagged race is unlikely. The two Porsche drivers and Jake Dennis are slightly favoured because Porsche is likely to have a small efficiency advantage. Oliver Rowland is also among the candidates for victory, and perhaps Jaguar has also caught up since the race in Mexico.