Jeddah (dpa) – The huge cloud of smoke from the rocket attack was still hanging in the sky near the Formula 1 track in Jeddah the day after.
But after heated discussions, probably also about a boycott of the drivers, the Grand Prix organizers of Saudi Arabia saved their race early on Saturday morning. The worried pilots were persuaded, the world association Fia and the Formula 1 bosses announced: Everything is going as planned.
Comprehensive security guarantees from the Saudi government are the reason for the decision, the Fia and the racing series said together. Shortly thereafter, the pilots’ union also communicated its willingness to participate in the second race of the season on Sunday (7 p.m. / Sky). By 2:30 a.m. local time, all parties had reached an agreement on Saturday morning.
Schumacher crash provides a moment of shock
The next anxious moments followed in the evening when Mick Schumacher caused a horror crash in qualifying. The 23-year-old’s Haas racing car was badly damaged, but the young star got off lightly. No external injuries were found in the track hospital, Schumacher was also able to speak to mother Corinna. As a precaution, he was helicoptered to a clinic in Jeddah for further testing. Late in the evening, his team decided that Schumacher would not start on Sunday.
After a long break due to the clean-up work at the accident site, Sergio Perez took pole position for the first time in his career. The Mexican Red Bull driver surprisingly relegated the opening winner Charles Leclerc and his Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz to second and third place. World champion Max Verstappen had to settle for fourth place in the second Red Bull. Superstar Lewis Hamilton was eliminated early in the Mercedes as 16th.
The excitement on the tarmac was only able to briefly forget the shock of a rocket hitting an oil facility belonging to Formula 1’s main sponsor Aramco, just a few kilometers away. Houthi rebels attacked several targets in Saudi Arabia on Friday. The background is the war in Yemen, which the kingdom is waging against the Houthis and which has triggered one of the worst current humanitarian catastrophes.
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“A difficult day for Formula 1”
“Yesterday was a difficult day for Formula 1 and a grueling day for us Formula 1 drivers,” said the GPDA driver representative. “It was difficult to stay a fully focused racer and turn off all natural human concerns when you saw the smoke from the incident.”
After the two Friday training sessions, the drivers discussed for more than four hours how to proceed. Sometimes Formula 1 boss Stefano Domenicali, sports director Ross Brawn and some team bosses were also there. A “wide range of opinions” was discussed, it said.
According to reports, the officials also explained to the pilots the possible consequences of an early departure. The racing series is said to be taking signing fees totaling $900 million for the ten-year contract with Saudi Arabia. The promise of a maximum increase in security measures ultimately led to a solution, the GPDA said. The tone of the statement leaves open whether all drivers really fully support the decision.
Ex-racing driver Ralf Schumacher at least decided differently and started the journey home. The Sky expert and commentator Sascha Roos made his way back to Munich on Saturday morning and reported from there on the final training session and qualification.
The broadcaster had given all employees the choice of staying in Jeddah. “There are so many things in Saudi Arabia that I don’t think are right. I can’t support them, that’s why I drove. But that’s my personal decision,” said Schumacher.
Ben Sulayem: “Formula 1 not the target of the attacks”
The new world association boss Mohammed Ben Sulayem had previously asserted that Formula 1 was not the target of the attacks. “They’re targeting the infrastructure, not the civilians and of course not the track,” said the 60-year-old from Dubai. This has been checked. “Let’s race,” said Ben Sulayem.
For Formula 1, however, the events once again raise the question of choosing their partners. Just a few weeks ago, the racing series canceled its contracts for races in Russia because of the war in Ukraine. Other Grand Prix hosts such as Bahrain, Azerbaijan, China and Qatar have also been criticized for their human rights violations for years.
In their announcement, Fia and Formula 1 indicated that the events of Jeddah will still be discussed: “It has been agreed with all those involved to continue a clear and open dialogue during the event and in the future.”