Khaled Al Faisal: “F1 in Arabia is a success. And Ferrari…”

Prince Khaled bin Sultan Al Faisal, president of the Car and Motorcycle Federation in Saudi Arabia, is preparing to welcome what will be the fourth major international event in the world of Motorsport in his country for 2024. After the Dakar in January, the E – Formula E Prix at the end of January and Extreme E (the stage of the FIA ​​Electric SUV World Championship) in mid-February, the second round of the Formula 1 World Championship now arrives in Jeddah. For the second time this season the race will be on Saturday, as happened in Bahrain, and the initial request for the change of date actually came from Saudi Arabia due to the fact that Ramadan will officially begin on Sunday 10 March – based on the lunar cycles – and therefore in that period it will not be possible to follow sporting events. The arrival of Formula 1 in the Saudi capital offers the opportunity to talk to Prince Khaled about sport, the development and growth of motorsport, as well as the innovations being studied for the next GP.

President, how did the idea of ​​the GP on Saturday in conjunction with Ramadan come about?

“The idea actually came to us last year from the Las Vegas Grand Prix, which took place on a Saturday. So when the 2024 calendar took shape – says Prince Khaled bin Sultan Al Faisal – we put forward the proposal. We wanted people to be able to have fun, distract themselves and prepare for the period of abstinence on the day before. We discussed it with the organization and put forward the proposal and consequently, given that it is mandatory to leave a week between one race and another, the Bahrain GP was also held on Saturday”.

Motorsport is increasingly at the center of attention for Arabia…

“Sport plays an important role in our country, which is constantly developing and growing. Our federation is working on a program that will be launched in the next two or three years: a sort of Academy that aims to train the drivers of the future, but also engineers, team managers, in short, those figures who have to do with sports disciplines involving engines. In the future we want to see more and more Saudi drivers and teams racing, but not only that, mechanics and other figures can also become part of this world and become our ambassadors in the various specialties. We intend to go to schools with our partners to show the potential of the sport and demonstrate that if kids have the right skills they can aspire to a future in motorsport, both in cars and on motorbikes.”

This world, however, in Arabia, sees greater attention focused on four wheels rather than two. How come?

“It’s true – admits the president of the Federation – but this is quite obvious because mobility here in Arabia takes place mainly on four wheels, so people know how to drive cars and not motorbikes: those who use motorbikes prefer road and not rather enduro, or two wheels more suitable for off-road. But by organizing rallies and also increasing the karting tracks for example, we give people the opportunity to discover other sports. The arrival of rallies in our country has led to an increase in the sale of motorcycles, and we have noticed this. And who knows, maybe in the future we might have a championship here too, for example of electric motorbikes, to go alongside Extreme E, as already happened last year in Sardinia with the E-Xplorer”.

It’s impossible not to take this opportunity to underline how in Saudi Arabia the attention is currently more focused on football than on motorsport, given the latest signings of local teams, from Benzema to Neymar, up to the most recent, Lee Congerton, one of the Atalanta managers.

“Football is very popular in Saudi Arabia – smiles Prince Khaled – and it is also very easy to play, which is why it is very successful in our country, but with Motorsport it is a different matter. If we look globally we certainly notice an increase in the number of enthusiasts and people who follow the various motor sports. In Saudi Arabia we have rallies, with the Dakar, and Extreme E, as well as naturally Formula 1 and media coverage, especially on a social level, has grown a lot, all over the world and also in our country. What we have noticed is that this type of sport attracts families: it is not only the fathers who follow the competitions but also the children, who are becoming passionate to the point that even school programs are evolving towards sport. We want children to be introduced to sports at a very young age and this is one of the reasons why Saudi Arabia is so involved in sports and hosts all these competitions. By working to improve their aptitude for sport, young people can aspire to a career.”

In addition to training young people, the Federation is also focused on increasing the presence of the public at the races.

“First of all, with our partners – explains the president of the Federation – whether they are those who organize the Dakar or Formula 1, we have tried to focus on the public. In this last case we must say that Formula 1 has become very popular here with the advent of Netflix – it refers to the Drive to Survive series – which has given all people the opportunity to discover what happens behind the scenes. This was fundamental: to involve people who don’t know this sport, but who only see it from the outside, you have to explain to them what happens inside the pits, in the everyday lives of the drivers, of those who make this discipline famous. Normal people can’t get involved just by watching a race on TV. Formula 1 is not simply a driver who gets into a car and drives around a circuit: there are many other aspects, fun, dramatic, made of effort, sacrifice, and people want to know what happens behind the scenes. We can almost say that it becomes more of an entertainment program than a sports one. People are curious to know what happens in a team, but also among the organizers, among the drivers, they want to share the challenges, and in this way they feel part of the event, thanks also to the influence of Social Media which is very important”.

So everything is ready in Jeddah. Have you thought about anything new for the 2024 edition of F1?

“Certainly not at the track level, in this case nothing has changed, however, precisely in relation to what we have just said, we have increased the Fan Zone because we want to give guests a better experience. The numbers show us that interest is increasing, we can see it from the bookings, and we don’t want them to always find the same things on the track. We want to improve ourselves, encourage them to come in ever greater numbers and make them have fun. Unfortunately, being a city circuit we are quite limited in terms of capacity, but our goal is to make their experience unforgettable and unique. Every year when they come to the Grand Prix they have to find something new, fascinating and exciting. We must keep our reception standards high otherwise people won’t return the following year. I want to think of the Grand Prix as a family event, and not just a motorsport event, we don’t want the children to stay at home and watch the race on television, absolutely not. We want everyone to come see the event live and have fun together all weekend.”

You are extremely diplomatic, but the Italians wouldn’t mind your prediction on Ferrari…

“I like it, and we all can’t wait to see it in action, as well as all the other cars. We are sure that there will be great challenges on the track, we will experience intense emotions. We’ll see, we’re all looking forward to the GP.”