On the eve of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the chairman of the country’s motorsports federation has suggested it is only a matter of time before the Middle East country “buys” a Formula 1 team.

Saudi Arabia joined the Formula 1 calendar in 2021, the same year Qatar made its debut, and this season the Jeddah Corniche circuit will play host to round five of the F1 2025 championship.

Could Saudi Arabia buy one of the existing F1 teams?

It is one of four Middle East countries that today have a permanent position on the Formula 1 calendar, but unlike Bahrain, they don’t own a Formula 1 team.

Two years ago, Mumtalakat, the sovereign wealth fund of Bahrain, took full ownership of the McLaren Group, including the Formula 1 team.

Saudi Arabia could follow suit depending on the viability of owning a Formula 1 team, after all, “nobody dislikes making money”.

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However, buying a Formula 1 team would cost Saudi Arabia a pretty penny as it’s been estimated the every team, even those at the back of the grid, are worth at least £1 billion. And none of the teams’ owners seem keen to sell at this moment in time.

“I mean, it could happen,” Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal said as per Racer. “It could happen soon if you see the growth, first of all.

“If you’re going to buy a Formula 1 team, then people will buy it to make money out of it, especially if it’s going to be bought by one of the PIF (Public Investment Fund) companies.

“So we see there is a lot of [growth], now Formula 1 is reaching new markets, the sales are globally increasing. We saw the partnership with Aramco and Aston Martin. So, all directions say that maybe soon Saudi can, if they see if it’s feasible, if it makes sense, then why not?

“Nobody dislikes making money, so if you can make money out of Formula 1, but I think it’s very tricky. You need to know exactly which team to buy and who to partner with and who will manage this.

“It’s very difficult because you see Formula 1 became very competitive and there’s a lot of changes in the regulations. We saw [the change that] is going to come in 2026 and the talks about Formula 1 going back to the V10 engines – naturally-aspirated engines – so the decision is very difficult.

“It’s not easy to say which team to buy and how you’re going to manage it. But we have a lot of interest. They’re sponsoring, we’re hosting a Formula 1 race, we’re sponsoring teams, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we see an announcement for a Saudi team.

“And personally, I would like to see a Saudi team, but if Saudi Arabia, or one of the Saudi companies will be involved in one of the teams, I would like them to do it the right way and be successful. So it’s a tricky question, but why not?”

That, however, is not Prince Khalid’s only goal.

Despite F1 chief Stefano Domenicali’s recent admission that it is “increasingly difficult to have two races in the same country because interest in Formula 1 is growing”, Prince Khali would like to see the Qiddiya circuit in Riyadh also join the calendar.

“Saudi Arabia as a country, we would like to host two races,” he said. “Jeddah and Riyadh, they are two different regions and two different markets. And Saudi Arabia, it’s a very big market. But is it feasible? And can we do two races given the complicated calendar?

“We know that we have a market for it in Saudi Arabia, but it’s something that we haven’t thought about. Let’s see what the demand will be when we move to Riyadh and maybe discuss it once we move to Riyadh and see if we can still maintain to have two races, which I really doubt that… All the teams, everybody’s complaining about [the number of races], and we have already four races in the Middle East.

“But, personally, I would like to see two races in Saudi. We know that the United States have three races after Las Vegas was introduced. Saudi Arabia is a very big country. I mean, it can happen, but will it happen? It’s too early to discuss this now.”

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