Formula E CEO offers Saudi Arabia update as calendar announcement looms

Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds has insisted that Formula E will "fight tooth and nail" to ensure that Saudi Arabia features on next season's calendar amid the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.

The Middle Eastern nation has become a significant venue for the all-electric series in recent years, with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) not only being a major Formula E partner but also a minority stakeholder.

It has often hosted one of the most extravagant events of the season, with major investment from the PIF and the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Sport resulting in increasingly common drone shows and record-breaking fireworks displays.

Since Season 6, 14 races have been held in Saudi Arabia — the first 10 at the Diriyah World Heritage Site, while the last four have taken place at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, which is also used by Formula 1. Every race in Saudi Arabia has been a double-header since the first event in November 2019.

With Formula E's calendar announcement set to take place at the next FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting on June 23, attention is rapidly turning to what will be included in the first Gen4 season, which is expected to get underway in mid-December and run until July 2027.

Unsurprisingly, the ongoing crisis in the Middle East is causing headaches not only for Formula E but also for F1, due to the delicate and unpredictable nature of the situation. F1 was forced to cancel its race in Jeddah in April, while Formula E managed to hold its event in February before the crisis started.

While Dodds has revealed very little about what next season's calendar may look like, RacingNews365 understands that Jeddah is eager to host the season-opener in mid-December — the first race of the Gen4 era.

Understandably with the official calendar announcement upcoming, Dodds would not confirm whether Jeddah is pushing to host the season-opener or not, but did confirm that Formula E is doing everything to hold a race in Saudi Arabia at some stage next season.

"So, you know, it wouldn't be shock news to everybody that obviously we plan to race in Jeddah next season," Dodds told RacingNews365 during an interview in early May. "Our season starts in December and runs through until July.

"As you and I are sitting here, perhaps we wouldn't want to be having a race in the Middle East right now. But that's a long way away. The beauty of our relationship with the Saudi Arabia is that we've been working with them for a long time.

"I think we were the first motorsport to break into Saudi Arabia, the first one they fully invested in. And we've got an incredible partnership. So I think there's lots of flexibility and willingness within that partnership.

"So if we can't do it [as the season-opener] — not that we have announced a calendar with it starting there — but if it were to be at the start and we couldn't do it, then I think we'd find another time in the calendar when we could hold it later on.

"But, you know, we will fight tooth and nail to make sure we get that race in, because we want to do it for the partnership. But we can't predict what the situation will be like."