Grassroots Karting in Saudi Arabia: The Saudi Young Stars Program and the Factory of Champions
Every Formula 1 champion started in a kart. Lewis Hamilton first raced karts at eight years old. Max Verstappen began at four. Charles Leclerc was racing at six. The path from karting to the pinnacle of motorsport is well-established, tested over decades and across every major racing nation. Saudi Arabia, having invested $2.5 billion-plus in world-class circuits and hosting the world’s most prestigious racing series, now confronts the fundamental question that determines whether its motorsport ambitions endure beyond the current generation of spending: where are the Saudi drivers going to come from?
The answer begins with children as young as five years old, strapped into electric karts at the Saudi Young Stars e-Karting Competition, learning the basics of racing lines, throttle control, and competitive spirit in a program designed to identify and develop the next generation of Saudi motorsport talent. This is the “factory of champions” that SAMF CEO Sattam Al-Hazami has described, and it represents the foundational investment upon which Saudi Arabia’s entire motorsport future depends.
The Saudi Young Stars e-Karting Competition
The Saudi Young Stars e-Karting Competition is organized by the Saudi Motorsport Company (SMC) in association with the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF). The program targets children aged 6 to 12, using electric karts to introduce young Saudi talent to competitive motorsport in a controlled, accessible, and environmentally conscious format.
Program Structure
The e-Karting program is designed to be inclusive rather than selective at the entry level. The goal is to cast the widest possible net, identifying talent from across Saudi Arabia’s diverse population rather than limiting participation to children from wealthy or motorsport-connected families. Electric karts are used for several reasons: they are quieter and more suitable for urban and indoor environments, they eliminate the complexity and cost of gasoline engine maintenance, they align with Saudi Arabia’s electric vehicle development agenda, and they provide a consistent and controllable performance platform that allows natural talent to emerge without the confounding variable of engine tuning.
Competitions are structured to emphasize both individual performance and team participation. The format brings together children from different regions and backgrounds, creating a social dimension that builds motorsport community alongside competitive skill. Events are organized at multiple locations across Saudi Arabia, reducing the travel burden on families and increasing accessibility.
Development Pathway
The Saudi Young Stars program is not a standalone activity but the first stage of a structured development pathway. Children who show aptitude and commitment in the e-Karting program can progress to more competitive karting categories, eventually reaching the sanctioned karting events organized by SAMF for juniors (14 years and above) and seniors (20 years and above).
The sanctioned karting events operate on temporary circuits under SAMF supervision, with teams of 4 to 12 drivers competing in formats that develop both individual driving skill and team management experience. These events serve as the proving ground for identifying talent that could progress to single-seater racing, rally competition, or other motorsport disciplines.
The pathway from Saudi Young Stars to international competition is long but deliberately structured. The twenty-year development program announced by SAMF President Prince Khaled bin Sultan Al-Faisal Al-Saud envisions a generational timeline in which today’s six-year-old e-Kart racers could be competing in international formulae by their late teens and potentially reaching Formula 1 or other world championships by their mid-twenties. This timeline aligns with the maturation of Qiddiya Speed Park and the broader motorsport infrastructure being built across the Kingdom.
The Saudi Star Program
Complementing the Saudi Young Stars e-Karting Competition is the Saudi Star Program, which targets an even younger age group of 5 to 12 years old. Using electric cars rather than traditional karts, the program includes a portable training school that can be deployed across multiple locations, starting in Jeddah and expanding to Riyadh and the Eastern Province.
Mobile Training Infrastructure
The portable training school concept is significant because it addresses the geographic challenge of developing motorsport talent across a country the size of Saudi Arabia. Rather than requiring families to travel to fixed karting facilities, which may not yet exist in their region, the Saudi Star Program brings the training infrastructure to the community. This mobile model allows the program to reach children in cities and regions that would otherwise have no access to organized motorsport activities.
The portable school includes training karts, safety equipment, track barriers, instructor resources, and educational materials. Events are set up in accessible locations such as parking facilities, exhibition grounds, or dedicated sports areas, creating a temporary racing environment that can be assembled and disassembled as the program moves between cities.
Age-Appropriate Development
The Saudi Star Program’s focus on ages 5 to 12 reflects the understanding that motorsport skill development, like development in any precision sport, benefits from early exposure. Children in this age range are developing fundamental motor skills, spatial awareness, reaction speed, and risk assessment capabilities that form the neurological foundation for high-performance driving later in life.
The use of electric cars rather than traditional karts for the youngest participants reduces noise levels, eliminates exhaust fumes, and creates a more family-friendly environment that encourages parental engagement. The lower performance threshold of entry-level electric cars also increases safety, allowing younger children to participate in a controlled environment where the consequences of mistakes are minimal, as detailed in karting for beginners in Saudi Arabia.
The Philosophy: Karting as Education
SAMF leadership has articulated a philosophy of grassroots karting that extends beyond talent identification for competitive motorsport. CEO Sattam Al-Hazami has described karting as “the beginning of the path to ensuring the sustainability of motorsport in Saudi Arabia,” calling it “the factory of champions.” This language positions karting as a foundational activity that produces not just drivers but the entire human capital base that a national motorsport industry requires.
SAMF President Prince Khaled bin Sultan Al-Faisal has emphasized an additional dimension: “Kart racing will contribute to creating a new style of educating young people about the dangers of road racing and will enhance community awareness.” This statement connects grassroots karting to the broader public safety challenge of road traffic accidents, which are a significant cause of injury and death among young Saudis. By channeling the desire for speed and competition into organized motorsport, the karting programs aim to reduce illegal street racing and reckless driving behavior.
This dual-purpose philosophy, producing both competitive motorsport talent and safer road users, strengthens the political and social justification for investment in grassroots programs. Parents who might be skeptical about enrolling young children in racing activities are more receptive when the program is framed as a safety education initiative as well as a sporting opportunity.
The Twenty-Year Development Vision
The grassroots karting programs exist within the context of a twenty-year motorsport development program that SAMF has outlined. This program’s goals are comprehensive, encompassing the development of mechanics and engineers with motorsport expertise, the transfer of motorsport know-how to Saudi Arabia through international partnerships and training programs, the domestic production of car components using knowledge gained from motorsport, the development of engineers, team managers, and race drivers, and a focus on aerodynamics and engineering from the grassroots level.
This twenty-year timeline is realistic for the development of a national motorsport culture. Countries with established motorsport traditions, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Brazil, developed their racing cultures over generations, not years. The United Kingdom’s dominance in Formula 1 (seven of ten teams are based in the UK) is the product of decades of grassroots racing, educational investment in engineering, and the accumulation of institutional knowledge that cannot be purchased or accelerated beyond certain limits.
Saudi Arabia’s advantage, reflected in the $2.5 billion motorsport investment portfolio, is that it can invest at a scale that accelerates the process. The combination of world-class facilities (Jeddah, Qiddiya), international events that provide exposure and aspiration (Formula 1, Formula E, Dakar), institutional support (SAMF, SMC), and grassroots programs (Saudi Young Stars, Saudi Star) creates a development ecosystem that is more comprehensive than what existed in most racing nations at a comparable stage of their motorsport history.
Infrastructure Development: Karting Facilities
The grassroots development vision requires physical infrastructure that does not yet fully exist. SAMF has secured government allocations of land in different regions of Saudi Arabia for the development of academies, go-karting tracks, and motorbike tracks. These facilities will provide permanent venues for training and competition that supplement the mobile programs currently in operation.
The planned infrastructure, complementing the Qiddiya Speed Park encyclopedia, includes purpose-built karting circuits designed to CIK-FIA standards, allowing Saudi karting events to be recognized internationally and enabling Saudi drivers to compete on home tracks that replicate the challenge levels of international karting venues. Indoor karting facilities for year-round training regardless of extreme summer temperatures are also planned, addressing the climate challenge that limits outdoor activity for several months each year.
The Qiddiya Speed Park itself includes provisions for karting and grassroots motorsport activities within its broader facility. This integration means that young Saudi drivers will have access to a development pathway that physically connects grassroots karting with the world’s premier motorsport circuits, all within a single venue.
Gender Inclusion: A New Frontier
Saudi Arabia’s 2018 lifting of the ban on women driving opened the door for female participation in motorsport, including grassroots karting. The Saudi Young Stars and Saudi Star programs do not exclude girls, and the development of female motorsport talent represents both an opportunity and a statement of social progress.
Extreme E’s mandatory mixed-gender team format, with Saudi Arabia hosting every season of the series from 2021 to 2025, provided a visible demonstration of gender-inclusive motorsport. The 2026 Dakar Rally featured 39 women competitors among its 812 total participants. Formula E’s Diriyah and Jeddah events have featured mixed-gender support categories and promotional activities.
For grassroots karting, gender inclusion starts at the earliest ages, where physical differences between boys and girls are minimal and competitive talent can emerge regardless of gender. Saudi girls who show aptitude in the e-Karting programs have the same theoretical pathway to competitive motorsport as their male counterparts, though the practical development of that pathway, including cultural acceptance, family support, and institutional infrastructure, remains a work in progress, as detailed in SMC.
Challenges in Grassroots Development
The grassroots karting investment faces several significant challenges that must be acknowledged alongside its ambitions.
Cultural Adoption
Saudi Arabia does not have a generational motorsport culture comparable to that of Italy, the United Kingdom, or Brazil. While there is strong interest in cars and driving among Saudi youth, the specific culture of competitive karting, with its demanding training schedules, travel requirements, and progressive financial commitment as young drivers advance through categories, is new to most Saudi families. Building cultural acceptance and enthusiasm for karting as a structured youth activity requires sustained promotion and community engagement.
Climate Constraints
Saudi Arabia’s extreme summer temperatures, regularly exceeding 45 degrees Celsius, make outdoor karting impractical for several months of the year. While indoor facilities can address this constraint, they are expensive to build and operate, and they cannot fully replicate the outdoor conditions that competitive drivers must eventually master. The climate limitation means that Saudi karting development will always operate on a compressed calendar compared to temperate countries where year-round outdoor racing is feasible.
Financial Accessibility
Competitive karting, as practiced in Europe, Australia, and the Americas, is an expensive activity. Equipment costs, entry fees, travel expenses, and coaching fees can easily exceed $50,000 per year for a competitive junior karting program. While Saudi Arabia’s relatively high average income levels and the availability of subsidized programs through SAMF mitigate this barrier, financial accessibility remains a factor in determining how deeply the grassroots programs can penetrate Saudi society.
International Competition Pathway
The ultimate test of a grassroots program is whether it produces drivers capable of competing internationally. Currently, no Saudi driver has competed in Formula 1, Formula 2, or Formula 3. The progression from national karting to international single-seater racing requires not just driving talent but also sophisticated management, international travel, and financial support that the Saudi motorsport ecosystem is still developing.
The Long View: 2030 and Beyond
The grassroots karting investment is inherently a long-term proposition. A child who enters the Saudi Young Stars program in 2026 at age six will be 16 in 2036, potentially ready for junior single-seater racing. If that child possesses exceptional talent and receives optimal development, they might reach Formula 1 or an equivalent world championship by their early twenties, around 2040.
This timeline means that the returns from today’s grassroots investment will not be visible for at least a decade and may not fully materialize for twenty years. The temptation to under-invest in grassroots programs because the returns are distant and uncertain is the greatest risk to Saudi Arabia’s motorsport development strategy. Infrastructure can be built in years. Circuits can be constructed in months. But developing the human capital that gives a national motorsport program its soul requires the one thing that money cannot buy: time.
Saudi Arabia has committed the financial resources. It has built the facilities. It has created the institutional frameworks. The grassroots karting programs represent the critical link between infrastructure and human capital, between the $2.5 billion spent on world-class circuits and the Saudi driver who might one day stand on a Formula 1 podium. The factory of champions is open for business. The production run has just begun.
The Qiddiya Karting Integration
The Qiddiya Speed Park, scheduled to open in 2028, includes dedicated karting and grassroots motorsport facilities within its broader complex. This integration means that young Saudi drivers will have access to a development pathway that physically connects grassroots karting with the world’s premier motorsport circuits — all within a single venue. A child learning to race karts at Qiddiya will be able to see Formula 1, Formula E, and MotoGP cars racing on the adjacent circuit, creating an aspirational connection that fixed karting venues in industrial parks or shopping mall car parks cannot replicate.
The climate-controlled indoor karting facilities planned for Qiddiya address the critical constraint of Saudi Arabia’s extreme summer temperatures, which regularly exceed 45 degrees Celsius and make outdoor activity impractical for several months. These indoor facilities will enable year-round training and competition that is not possible at the current outdoor venues, allowing Saudi karting development to operate on a full twelve-month calendar comparable to temperate countries.
The Extreme E Legacy and Gender Development
Extreme E’s mandatory mixed-gender format, with Saudi Arabia hosting every season of the series from 2021 through its 2025 finale at Qiddiya City, provided a visible demonstration of gender-inclusive motorsport that informs the grassroots development philosophy. Female drivers including Molly Taylor, Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky, Laia Sanz, and Catie Munnings competed at the highest level on Saudi soil, establishing precedents that the grassroots karting programs can build upon.
The 2026 Dakar Rally featured 39 women competitors among its 812 total participants, and the 2024 edition saw Cristina Gutierrez become the first woman to win the T3 Challenger category. These achievements create role models for girls entering the Saudi Young Stars and Saudi Star programs, demonstrating that competitive motorsport is not gender-limited and that talent, regardless of gender, can succeed at the highest levels.
For karting development resources, see the SAMF official website and the CIK-FIA international karting standards.