Media report: 4 additional chicanes planned for Formula E track layout in Jeddah

Formula E will hold its first Jeddah E-Prix in February 2025 on a modified version of the track that was used by the WTCR touring car championship in 2022. However, the high-speed circuit will be equipped with four additional chicanes, as reported by The Race. It is not the first time that Formula E has resorted to such a measure.

A temporary chicane was already in place on the start-finish straight at the pre-season tests in Madrid a few weeks ago - just like in Valencia in previous years. In both cases, the aim was to give the drivers an additional opportunity to recover energy under braking.

This is also planned in Jeddah: The initial section of the lap is still to be the same as the circuit on which Formula 1 races too. In the area of turn 4, however, the track turns to the left, where it leads back to the Formula 1 track after a 180-degree bend in the area of turn 21 of the full layout. The following five bends are again identical to the original track layout.

On the approach to the last corner - a long left-hander - Formula E will turn 90 degrees to the left. This is followed by a right-hand bend before the circuit runs parallel to the actual track layout for around 100 metres before turning back onto it with another right-left chicane. The last bend leads to the original layout again. However, the start-finish straight, which is around one kilometre long and is also interrupted by two chicanes.

Start-finish straight shortened to 550 metres

After around 200 metres, the track turns left into the car park in front of the Belajio Resort and leads back again with a right-left combination. After another 250 metres, there is a right-left-right chicane that leads back onto the track just before the grandstand and starting grid. This shortens the length of the start-finish straight to around 550 metres, which should significantly reduce the top speed of the Gen3 Evo cars.

The reason for the additional chicanes is that the Formula E racing cars rely on several braking zones per lap where they can recover energy. On the rear axle, recuperation is actually the only way to slow down the car: there are no hydraulic brakes on the Formula E cars.

Without sufficient braking zones, the drivers would have to take their foot off the power pedal on large sections of the long straight to save energy. At the same time, the slipstream, in which the drivers can save additional energy, is extremely important. The races in Misano and Portland, for example, have shown this.

We will see whether the measures in Jeddah will be crowned with success on 14 and 15 February 2025, when Formula E will hold its third and fourth races of the season in Saudi Arabia. Prior to that, the electric series will race in Sao Paulo (7 December) and Mexico City (11 January).