The Formula 1 race weekend continues according to the original plan in Saudi Arabia.
The people of the F1 depot have been assured that the race is safe to drive. However, the drivers are concerned. AOP
See Mervi Kallio’s report on Saudi Arabia. Formula 1 can be viewed on Elisa Entertainment Viaplays and V sport channels.
– They (Yemeni Huthik rebels) are targeting infrastructure, not civilians, and of course not the track. We have checked the facts and we have been assured by the highest authority that it is safe here. Continuing the race.
This was stated by the chairman of the FIA in the United Arab Emirates Mohammed bin Sulayemafter long discussions with Formula One and Saudi Arabia.
Friday’s second free practice was postponed a quarter after a missile strike hit a 12-kilometer distance near the Jeddah track earlier on Friday. According to the news agency AP, the Hut rebels in Yemen were involved.
“There could be consequences”
The target of the missile strike was the plant of Aramco, the world’s largest oil and energy company. Aramco is also the Main Sponsor of Aston Martin’s F1 team. According to reports, a still visible cloud of smoke rises from the crash site.
The FIA, F1 and team leaders had long discussions about the rest of the race weekend. After the second free practice, it was the drivers ’turn to meet. According to the BBC, the meeting lasted up to four hours.
As many other media have reported, the BBC also writes that a significant number of drivers would not want to continue the race weekend.
However, according to the BBC, drivers were stressed at the meeting that if the race were not run, it “could have consequences”. The BBC goes on to say that canceling the race could make it harder to leave the country, for example.
Risks known
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, was driven for the first time in 2021 and it is now time for another race, unless plans change. AOP
Red Bull team manager Christian Horner was of the opinion that the race weekend must continue because “sport must stand on one front”.
“Terror must not be allowed to win,” Horner said, according to the British Express.
However, the F1 series has been repeatedly criticized for allowing competitions in countries whose policies include the use of sporting events and events as a white wash for administrative action. Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salmanin and the Saudi investment fund PIF, for example, bought Newcastle in the English Premier League in 2021.
In Saudi Arabia, however, the sport culture of motorsports, among other things, is being ignored and Crown Prince bin Salman is accused of being a journalist. Jamal Khashoggin assassination.
As early as 2021, Saudi Arabia had a missile strike on Yemen’s Huthika rebels in connection with the Formula E race. Thus, even the royal class has certainly long known that driving in the country is unsafe, as Saudi Arabia is a party to the civil war in Yemen.
According to a 2021 UN report, Yemen is experiencing the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.
Disagreement
Mercedes team manager Toto Wolff talking to Saudi Arabia race organizers. AOP
Mercedes team manager Toto Wolff said GPFans, according to the CEO of the Formula 1 series Stefano Domenicali and FIA President bin Sulayem were of the opinion that the race must continue.
– We team leaders have been assured that this is the safest place in Saudi Arabia and that is why you can drive here, Wolff said.
However, Wolff revealed that the decision was not entirely unanimous. There was disagreement.
– There was a (disagreement) between the team managers.
The BBC writes that F1 drivers are afraid for their safety, but the F1 series has decided to run the race.
The F1 series canceled the Russian race in September, when Vladimir Putin the administration launched an offensive war in Ukraine. The Haas team in the United States ended its cooperation with its main sponsor, the Russian fertilizer company Uralkali. The oligarch Dmitri Mazepinin son Nikita Mazepin at the same time got out of Haas.
Aston Martin driver, four-time F1 champion Sebastian Vettel was the first to announce that he did not plan to drive in Russia. Vettel, who is at the forefront of formula-making among political formulas, did not drive in Bahrain, nor does he drive in Saudi Arabia because of a coronary virus infection.