Today and tomorrow Pirelli, McLaren and Mercedes had two days of work scheduled in Sakhir on wet compounds: everything has returned, the staff are in the hotel waiting to return home
The military attack against Iran that has been underway since this morning has also had repercussions for F1 personnel located in the Middle East. In particular for members of Pirelli, Mercedes and McLaren who had planned a tire test on the Sakhir track in Bahrain today and tomorrow and which was canceled for safety reasons. Pirelli had planned two days on the track to work on the development of wet compounds and it was decided to return the staff to the hotel, as well as the members of Mercedes and McLaren.
safety
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The Milanese manufacturer announced that “the two days of development tests for the wet compounds scheduled for today and tomorrow have been canceled for safety reasons, following the evolution of the international situation. All Pirelli staff currently present in Manama are safe in the hotels. The company is working to guarantee their safety and organize their return to Italy and England as soon as possible”.
explosions
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Like other countries in the area, Bahrain was also partially involved in the conflict: explosions were recorded at the American base hosted in the country. Today local authorities also ordered the immediate evacuation of an entire residential neighborhood in the capital Manama, following a missile attack that hit the area in the last few hours. According to a joint statement from the Ministry of the Interior and the Supreme Command of the Defense Forces of the Kingdom of Bahrain, a ballistic missile – partially intercepted by the air defenses – caused shrapnel and fragments to fall on an inhabited area of the Al Juffair district (or neighboring areas, according to initial reconstructions), causing damage to civilian buildings, localized fires and the partial collapse of some structures.
responsibility
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Authorities have not yet officially attributed responsibility for the attack, but the regional context – with Iranian announcements of missile operations against US bases and “enemy” interests, missile interceptions in the United Arab Emirates with civilian casualties, and claimed attacks elsewhere in the Gulf – makes a link to the ongoing escalation between Iran and its adversaries highly likely.
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