Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds has addressed the current situation in the Middle East and whether Jeddah will be able to host the opening round of next season.
It was made official on Tuesday morning that the Jeddah Corniche Circuit will host the season opener of Formula E's 13th campaign, marking the start of the Gen4 era.
The venue next to the Red Sea is scheduled to host a double-header under the lights on December 18-19 this year, before the season continues in Mexico City in January 2027.
However, the ongoing crisis in the Middle East has already seen Formula 1, MotoGP and the World Endurance Championship all cancel or postpone races in the region.
Starting the Gen4 era in the Middle East is dependent on developments in the crisis, with reports of a deal between Iran and the United States fluctuating in recent days.
Interestingly, according to Dodds, one Formula E manufacturer would currently be happy to race in Jeddah, giving the series reason to be optimistic about starting the season without delay.
Should Jeddah need to be postponed until later in the season – something Formula E is open to doing if necessary – then Mexico City would instead host the opening round of the Gen4 era.
Currently, Formula E is assessing the conditions under which it can safely start the season in Jeddah, and what would need to happen for a postponement.
"So, I was with one of our manufacturer partners last week, a big manufacturer, and I asked them the question, which was: if we were racing in Jeddah this weekend, and you had to go to your board and say, 'Is everyone okay if we travel to the Middle East and race there?', what would the answer be?" Dodds revealed during an interview with RacingNews365.
"They went away to get that answer, so they officially put the request in, and they came back and said they'd been told there were zero restrictions on travelling there, so we'd be absolutely fine to go there.
"So, what we've got underway is a big piece of work that basically says under what conditions we'd be fine to race and under what conditions we wouldn't be fine to race.
"But I think it's interesting for us to already be getting feedback from teams and manufacturer partners that, under the current conditions, they'd be okay to travel and race in Jeddah.
"So, our expectation is that we'll be racing in Jeddah next season to kick off our season in December."
Originally published by RacingNews365 —
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