F1 drivers were intimidated into silence, writes Jtuo Taipale, Iltalehti’s F1 journalist.
Serious expressions say it all. The F1 drivers were very worried on Friday. AOP
Is F1 a sport? Sure. But most of all, it’s entertainment.
And entertainment is about big money. In the case of formulas, Saudi coins.
That’s why the F1 weekend is being routed through Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, even though the rockets are exploding just ten kilometers from the depot area.
Money speaks, and alongside it, the opinion of drivers has no weight at all. F1 drivers have been pressured to continue. They are hostages over the race weekend.
The opinion of the side callers has become very clear. The race weekend should have been put in the package as soon as Max Verstappen smelled of a burnt-out oil tank that had been hit by a missile strike.
Instead, the depot was met, pondered, and inked. On several occasions. and for hours.
A quick meeting before the second free practice calmed the situation for a moment. When the engines went off, the talk began.
The drivers, team bosses, and the F1 Series management team took turns sitting at each other at the conference table to consider whether the whistles should be put in the bag.
Among other things, the on – site Viaplay depot reporter Mervi Kallio and The BBC said many drivers fear for their own safety.
Motorsports are dangerous. But because of the momentum, not the rockets.
Negotiations continued beyond two in the morning. In the end, all parties repeated the same stream. Competing is safe.
At the same time, it was conveniently announced that the drivers would not comment further on the incident.
If this does not yet cause the alarm bells to ring, the FDA Driver Association GPDA bulletin will be available at the latest.
FIA President Mohammed Bin Sulayem and F1 Series CEO Stefano Domenicali assured the F1 depot was a safe place. AOP
– A wide range of views were expressed and discussed, including in the text.
It is clear that Saudi Arabia’s GPDA were completely disagreed over the weekend.
What’s interesting about the bulletin is what it doesn’t say.
There is no mention of an agreement or consensus in the text. The word used resolution turns into a solution.
After all, the solution is to force the drivers to drive.
F1 has firmly anchored itself in the Middle East.
The area will be run by GPs in four different countries next year. The Saudi Arabian Main Sponsor of the series is the largest company in the world and the FIA is led by Mohammed Bin Sulayem. The importance of the area for formulas and the whole of motorsports will be enormous in the coming years.
The target of the terrorist attack was the oil depot of Aramco, the main sponsor of the F1 series. AOP
If F1 respected human rights, there would be no driving in Saudi Arabia. Just a week before the formulas arrived, 81 pro-democracy protesters were executed in the country.
Nor is the state any innocent party to the Yemeni missile attack. Saudi Arabia has caused a huge humanitarian crisis for its neighbor.
F1 with his backgrounds cares little about this. Unfortunately. It was gratifying to give Russia exit passports, but with the rest of the world it was an easy thing to do.
Saudi Arabia will not give up F1 as long as money flows.
It only helps to hope that the race hosts will be able to guarantee the safety of the formula people.
Drivers have no choice but to rely on this. F1 cars will drive on the street track in Jeddah on Sunday, anyone was behind the wheel.
Günther Steiner, the team manager of Haas, gave the floor.
– If the driver does not want to drive, we will put Pietro (Fittipaldi, spare driver) in the car. He can’t wait for it! That is our solution.