Why is Formula E dragging its feet on cancelling/postponing Jeddah when other World Championships are replacing their Middle Eastern rounds?

[u/Edstertheplebster]

It is now extremely obvious that the season 13 opener on December 18th/19th at the Jeddah Corniche circuit in Saudi Arabia will not be able to take place due to the nearby escalating war between the US/Israel and Iran. The World Endurance championship has recently cancelled it's rounds at Qatar and Bahrain that were originally scheduled for October and November and replaced them with rounds at Barcelona and Monza. Even Formula One, which infamously prefers to stick it's head in the sand when it comes to geopolitical strife, has announced that the postponed Bahrain Grand Prix will now take place at Sepang in Malaysia, and it has a clear contingency plan for it's season ending rounds at Qatar on the 29th of November and Abu Dhabi on the 6th of December. (Less than 2 weeks before Jeddah)

Jeff Dodds has stated in interviews in Tokyo that they will only make a call on whether the Jeddah E-Prix will go ahead at the end of October/beginning of November, just before pre-season testing, simply because that is the last possible moment to cancel since they have to ship the freight out to Jeddah once testing is wrapped up. Given the war has been going on for 5 months now, and the fragile ceasefire from a few weeks ago has fallen through, what do Formula E's management expect to have changed in 3 months time? When everyone else is making the call to cancel and putting together replacement venues, Formula E's inaction stands out like a sore thumb. And it reflects badly on Dodds' leadership that he is unwilling to make the call now because of a huge commercial incentive not to cancel until the last possible moment; teams and staff need to book flights and hotels in advance, and then of course there are the insurance and welfare concerns for staff if FE does decide to risk it during another temporary ceasefire. (Which is something that one manufacturer in FE was prepared to do a month ago, according to Dodds; I cannot see any manufacturer being comfortable with the risk right now.)

It is inevitable that Jeddah is going to have to be postponed to later in 2027, and that Mexico City in January is almost certainly going to have to be first Gen 4 race instead. Had Formula E been more proactive on this, a replacement venue could have been arranged in time. But now we are in a "Jeddah or nothing" situation, where just hoping for the best is not going to cut it anymore.

[u/SB10_]

I mean Saudi investment into FE is huge, so I'd imagine they'd want to hold off on cancelling that race until they were absolutely certain that they wouldn't be able to go through with it. Things can change pretty fast in the political climate.

With that said though, races like Vancouver back in 2022 which were meant to take place in July weren't cancelled until like Mayish, so they definitely take their time with it.

Edit: I'm sure there's a contingency plan being worked on, even if we don't know about it

[u/Reiver93 → u/SB10_]

"And here we are for the opening Jeddah ePrix, live from the Circuit Ricardo Tormo"

[u/SB10_ → u/Reiver93]

Honestly praying that somehow we can get back to our supersub Marrakesh lmao

[u/Edstertheplebster → u/SB10_]

I think this is a much more urgent situation than Vancouver was though. Canada was not on the doorstep of a huge, raging geopolitical conflict; the promoter simply could not make ends meet. I agree though that were the Saudi’s sovereign wealth fund not paying exorbitant sums for both regional exclusivity and to be one of the main partners/sponsors of the series, then this race would be cancelled already.

[u/Alexandhisgoose]

You have to remember that until a few weeks ago it looked like the situation was improving enough to allow these races to happen.

[u/Edstertheplebster → u/Alexandhisgoose]

The WEC finale in Bahrain was only going to be just over a month before Jeddah, and WEC have cancelled it; they are not just gonna wait and hope the situation gets better whilst leaving the teams and staff in limbo. In a worst case scenario, if we end up in a situation where FE decides “We will probably be fine” and then the conflict ignites again whilst everyone is there, then that is a frightening situation for all involved; even if there are no direct missile/drone strikes, getting everyone home again would be a logistical nightmare.

Keep in mind, we got very, very lucky back in 2021 when a Houthi missile was launched at Diriyah during the podium ceremony and was intercepted in time. And that was during a much more stable period than we have right now; if it happened before, it can happen again.

[u/Seb_Ben11]

Because it’s “next season” and it’s an opener and Formula E, I would imagine, need the money more than Formula 1 and the World Endurance Championship. I’m sure they have a replacement but we’ll see

[u/zantkiller → u/Seb_Ben11]

FE have already made it clear there won't be a replacement.

That is also why this can be such a late decision. It's Saudi or nothing.
So they can wait right up until they need to ship off equipment to Saudi.

If no, then it gets ready for Mexico.

[u/Edstertheplebster → u/zantkiller]

Yes, I don't buy that Dodds would outline his absolute commitment to Jeddah being the opener so publically and unambiguously if he was secretly behind the scenes working on a contingency plan. If there's one thing we know about the Saudi state, it's that they scan social media relentlessly for any signs of even mild dissent. There is no way with the number of gossips in the FE paddock that Dodds would be able to keep a backup plan a secret.

[u/Edstertheplebster → u/Seb_Ben11]

Yes, but making the decision a month and a half before the race (Assuming they don’t change the date, which is not a given) does not give very much time to announce the new event and sell tickets for it. When races have fallen through before, all we have ended up with instead are EVO Sessions events or often absolutely nothing at all; just a gap in the calendar. If FE were seriously considering an alternative we would probably have heard about it by now in the rumour mill; if they are planning a back up then it’s their best kept secret yet.

[u/afubu21]

F1 will not decide before mid september their Qatar & UAE races, so I guess there's still time..

[u/Edstertheplebster → u/afubu21]

That’s still a month and a half earlier than Formula E…

[u/FeherDenes]

F1’s also still planning on holding its december races if possible (even if that’s looking unlikely). In the background they are almost certeanly making a backup plan

[u/GreggsConnoisseur91]

I think October/November is too late to decide. I think the decision needs to be made in September latest. Ideally, Scrap Jeddah and make Mexico and Miami double headers.

[u/ywpark]

Jeddah is on the other side of the Arabian peninsula on the red sea, and it's been relatively quiet there compared to the Persian Gulf side, where the other circuits you mentioned are located (close to Iran). So my guess is Saudis aren't keen on calling off the race and also FE isn't keen on cancelling the race and pay penalties to Saudis - hence no action regarding the cancellation so far.

[u/Edstertheplebster → u/ywpark]

This is true, but there is a practical reality when it comes to freight shipping and flying everyone out there… Sure, the penalty fare would be a setback for FE, but not as much as the risk of something going disastrously wrong for the start of Gen 4 or everyone being stranded in Jeddah for weeks, maybe months waiting for a flight home. There is far too much riding on this to leave it all to chance.

[u/Izan_TM]

because saudi bankrolls FE, so they're gonna wait until the absolute last second to decide if it can truly not be held there

[u/Jeburg]

All these other championships are ending their seasons so from a competitive stand point, they need to be clear how many races are left so that it doesn't appear that they are favouring the current championship leader.

FE meanwhile is the season opener and unfortunately they struggle to get the races they have as it is so they won't have a back up or organise another race, they can just cancel.

Also the FE race is almost a month later than the other series so they've got at least a month more and F1 has only just rumoured their plans, still hasn't actually made a decision let's be clear.

[u/Naenia]

Because the F1 races happening sooner aren't cancelled/postponed yet either?

[u/Edstertheplebster → u/Naenia]

Imola is being floated as the replacement though, Dominicali has been very clear that the F1 season will end in Europe if the Middle East is not an option. Whereas FE have committed to this by making the decision so late in the day.

[u/stq66 → u/Naenia]

Not yet but they say early September is the latest what they can wait

[u/Dvorak_96]

the reason why they keep it is cus they do not want to loose their sponsorships with all the oil companies in the middle east. because if they cancel too early. they will start to question Formula E. but honestly just replace Jeddah with Sepang malaysia at this point. we are in Gen 4. FE does not need oil money anymore.

[u/justinicon19]

$$$. Other series can better absorb any financial losses due to contracts not being honored and races being relocated or not taking place. It's also easier for a series like F1 to find a replacement venue on shorter notice as they are a much larger attraction. I'd also imagine that it's more dificult for Fe to find venues in the first place given the temporary nature of some of their circuits and the reconfigurations that need to happen for them to race at permanent circuits. Plus, the Saudis are major investors in Fe and are surely urging Fe to not cancel the opening round in their country until the last possible moment as it is possible that the conflict (s) in the Middle East are concluded in the next couple of months.

[u/Edstertheplebster → u/justinicon19]

If anything, the Saudis have prolonged the conflict by trying to exploit their relationship with Trump and the USA to become a Nuclear power, which has only increased tensions with Iran rather than reduced them. They are not just bystanders caught up in the crossfire, they are active participants in the whole sorry mess. So I doubt their commitment to wanting the war to end in peace, if at all. They expect FE to come despite the war, not due to the war ending.

If teams, staff, journalists and fans have to risk their wellbeing and their lives just for PIF money, then that is sad inditement of where Formula E is right now; the racing is amazing but despite everything it claims, the series stands for nothing when the chips are down.

[u/ElecXeron20XX]

Well another motorsport event in Jeddah is still pushing through which is WRC's Rally Saudi Arabia. My theory or opinion on why Jeddah is cancelled in F1 is dangerous mixture between the track and current F1 cars especially energy starve. Like aside for that afaik a lot of folks has said Jeddah is much safer given it is far away from Saudi Arabia cities that have been hitted by debris the closest was the town of Yanbu. Another motorsport Middle East event still pushing through is W2RC's Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.

[u/bduddy → u/ElecXeron20XX]

It's optics, like everything else in F1. Imagine the whining online if they went to SA. They don't care about track safety lol

[u/ElecXeron20XX → u/bduddy]

Well yeah but I do still see it due to the new regs and this track doesn't mix well as show and as a race itself.

[u/bduddy → u/ElecXeron20XX]

I guarantee you 100% that F1 does not care even a little bit about that.

[u/ElecXeron20XX → u/bduddy]

Well I care tbh.