JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — Formula One has confirmed this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix will go ahead as planned despite an attack on a nearby oil facility.
An Aramco oil depot 10 kilometers east of the Jeddah street circuit was in flames Friday evening, with a large plume of black smoke visible from the track during the opening practice session of the race weekend.
Later in the day, a military spokesperson for Yemen’s Houthis, which have been battling a coalition led by Saudi Arabia for seven years, claimed responsibility for an attack with missiles on an Aramco facility in Jeddah.
Saudi Arabian authorities stated there were no casualties.
The second practice session was delayed by 15 minutes while drivers and team principals met with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali to discuss Friday’s attacks.
Domenicali offered an update on the situation and informed teams and drivers that the weekend would go ahead as planned.
He also assured them that security had been a priority ahead of the fire after a similar incident on an oil facility in Jeddah last week, which was also linked to a Houthi missile attack.
All 20 drivers then took part in the second practice session before joining a meeting with F1 team bosses and Domenicali later in the evening for further discussions.
The initial meeting lasted 40 minutes, with drivers joining throughout, and concluded after a 15-minute period in which all drivers and team bosses were present together in F1’s hospitality.
The drivers remained in the room for their regular Friday evening driver briefing with FIA race director Niels Wittich, before staying longer to talk between themselves. Two hours after some of them had joined the first meeting, the drivers remained in the same meeting room and had been joined again by Domenicali.
“We have received total assurance that the country’s safety is first,” Domenicali told reporters after the initial meeting with drivers and team bosses. “No matter what is the situation, safety has to be guaranteed.
“They are here with their families actually here at the track. So they have in place all the systems to protect this area, the city, the places where we are going. So we feel confident and we have to trust the local authority in that respect. Therefore of course we will go ahead with the event.”
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem added: “We had meetings with high-level security and then we had meetings of course with the team principals, we had meetings with the drivers.
“Who are [the Houthis] targeting? They are targeting the infrastructure, the economic infrastructure, not the civilians and of course not at the track.
“We checked the facts from them and we have the assurance from high level that this is a secure place, the whole thing will be secure and let’s go on racing. For sure all the families are here. We are only looking forward but with an assurance that nothing is going to happen.”
When Domenicali was asked if all the drivers were in agreement that the race should go ahead, he said: “They will be on track.”
Red Bull boss Christian Horner agreed with the decision to race on.
“I think the sport has to stand together collectively,” Horner said. “Any act of terrorism cannot be condoned. The sport shouldn’t be bullied into a position that a situation like that just isn’t acceptable.
“Stefano and the president, they’re dealing with it. There’s been all the assurances from the organisers and we’ll be going racing.”
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff added: “[The F1 circuit] is probably the safest place that you can be in Saudi Arabia at the moment.”
The promoter of the race, the Saudi Motorsport Company (SMC), confirmed the attack and said security had been raised to match the threat posed by the events
“We are aware of the attack on the Aramco distribution station in Jeddah earlier this afternoon,” the SMC statement said. “The race organisers remain in direct contact with the Saudi security authorities, as well as F1 and the FIA to ensure all necessary security and safety measures continue to be implemented to guarantee the safety of all visitors to the Formula One stc Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as well as all drivers, teams and stakeholders.
“The race weekend schedule will continue as planned. The safety and security of all our guests continues to be our main priority and we look forward to welcoming fans for a weekend of premium racing and entertainment.”
Regarding the delayed practice session, F1’s governing body issued the following statement. “In the interests of the safety of all participants in the Event, the Stewards have modified the Official Programme for Friday, 25th March 2022, at the request of the Organiser, by delaying the Second Practice Session by 15 minutes to start therefore at 20:15 Saudi Arabian time.”
Source: www.espn.com