Read on to learn how to master the fastest street circuit on the Formula 1 calendar, located in Saudi Arabia.
Photo credit: Codemasters / EA.
The latest addition to the F1 2021 track catalogue, Jeddah, is a unique circuit for many reasons. The home of the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is the fastest street track in F1 history, with cars reaching average speeds of more than 250 km/h. With a length of around 6.2 kilometres, it is also the second longest track on the 2021 calendar after Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.
🏁 Welcome to 𝑱𝑬𝑫𝑫𝑨𝑯 – the newest and fastest street circuit to race onto this year’s calendar, and live RIGHT NOW in #F12021game
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Jeddah provides a lot of challenges for those who brave the city streets. In this track guide, we will teach you how to master the trickiest sections of the circuit designed by Carsten Tilke, son of the famous, or perhaps infamous, F1 track designer Hermann Tilke.
Turn 1 – Corner cutting allowed!
We arrive at turn 1 at full speed. Try to approach the corner as far towards the outside as possible and brake at the beginning of the outer kerb until you reach fourth gear. Go for an early turn into the corner and cut as much of the inner kerb as possible. Track limits on Jeddah appear to be a bit weird and we want to make use of that. From what we have seen so far, it is only necessary to have a small portion of your right tyres on track, the rest can drive over the kerb in turn 1. You can also cut a lot of turn 2 in order to get as wide as possible on the exit.
Turn 4 – Do not be afraid of the walls
Turn 4 marks the entry into the first fast-corner-section of Jeddah. The braking point is at the 50 metre mark and, once again, you should try to cut as much as possible on the inside. Don’t be afraid to go really close to the wall.
Afterwards, you can go flat out in sixth and seventh gear in the following corners. This is a section you need to practice several times to get properly dialed-in. A small lift might be needed in the right-handers turn 8 and 9, depending on your setup. But, after you exit the left-hander of turn 10, you can activate DRS and it is just pedal to the metal until you reach the hairpin.
Turn 13 – A banked hairpin
Arriving at turn 13 in eighth gear, you need to brake around the 50-metre-board down into fifth gear. Sweep around the corner smoothly and try to be on the throttle as early as possible. But be aware, it is especially easy to lose your rear in this corner. That is because of the banked nature of the track, as well as cars generally being very nervous on the rear in F1 2021.
Turn 23 – Weird track limits
Turn 23 marks another example of the weird track limits in Jeddah. When you go around the apex of a corner, usually the white line on the outside of the inner kerb marks the track limits. In this case, it is actually the inner white line which marks the limits. Making use of this will save you another few hundredths, which may be crucial in qualifying.
Turn 23 is pretty similar to turn 5 in terms of shape and also when it comes to track limits. That means there are two spots on this circuit where you can cut significantly more on the inside than you would think.
Turn 27 – Hairpin between two DRS zones
The last corner before the pit straight is another hairpin which you approach in eighth gear and with DRS open. The braking point lies shortly before the 50-metre-board. Shift down into fourth gear and lightly graze the apex of the kerb before putting the pedal to the metal again.
It requires time and patience to master this street circuit. Drivers must be brave to stay on the throttle in all of the fast corners. But at the same time, there is no room for error. One single mistake probably sends you into the wall and dooms your race.
Now you know how to master the Jeddah in F1 2021. And we are excited to see how the real-world F1 cars are going to handle the super-fast street circuit when Formula 1 debutes here on December 5.
How do you like the new circuit? Tell us your opinion by tweeting @overtake_gg or leave a comment below!
