The Saudi GP's rapid rise: Martin Whitaker's vision realized

Martin Whitaker is F1’s Lawrence of Arabia. A man with roots deep in UK motor racing who has relocated to the Middle East and become a driving force in expanding the sport in the region. He is now arguably the most powerful man in Saudi motorsport as CEO of the Saudi Motorsport Company and responsible for not only bringing F1 to the country but also for attracting other motor racing events to the region.

His biggest challenge was creating the Jeddah circuit, a national venue fit to host the biggest races, in the first place. “It’s extraordinary to think less than a year before the first grand prix we didn’t have a circuit,” says Whitaker, who started out as a junior staffer on Motor Sport’s former sister paper Motoring News. He’s since logged experience of Formula 1 and the World Rally Championship with Ford and managed Bahrain’s Sakhir F1 track between 2004 and 2010. His amazement at the rate of build in Jeddah is shared by many.

Motor Racing is opening doors for the public