The war in Ukraine is far from Saudi Arabia, site of the second round of the 2022 Formula 1 World Championship, but this afternoon there was an explosion of willful origin, a real attack by the Houthis (the latter have claimed) at an Aramco oil plant in Jeddah, just 20 kilometers from the track where the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is held.
During the first free practice session of the Grand Prix held on the Jeddah track, Max Verstappen contacted his box via radio while he was on the track asking: “Guys, I smell burning, it’s my car that is going to fire?”.
The Red Bull team, after some checks, reassured the world champion, telling him that they had not noticed any anomalies on the RB18 number 1. And the team led by Christian Horner was right. Max’s car worked perfectly.
The smell of burning came from the fire that broke out in the Aramco plant due to a missile attack by the Houthis, the Yemeni rebels. These probably targeted Jeddah for the Saudi Arabian Formula 1 Grand Prix.
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According to what reported by Arab News, the Saudi Arabian air fleet intervened by destroying 7 drones and a missile launched by them. Today’s attack comes within 5 days of the last one, again made by the rebels in an oil plant.
At this moment, the leaders of Formula 1 have not yet issued any official statement related to any decisions on the actual course of the race weekend, but it is clear that with the missile hit just 20 kilometers from the track, the alarm is became very strong.
The risk of new attacks by the Yemeni rebel group is high, and was confirmed by the second attack on oil plants in just 5 days. The situation is in the making and the leaders of Formula 1 will necessarily have to consider the current situation, which is anything but simple. The safety of the world champion circus must be preserved. We will see if there are the conditions to complete the race weekend or not.
Before the second free practice session, the drivers gathered together with the leaders of the FIA and decided to run also in the second practice session. At the end of this the drivers will meet again with the FIA and F1 to talk about the situation, which is in the making. Stefano Domenicali, president and CEO of Formula 1, underlined to Sky’s microphones: “We are all here, racing here is safe”.
The Saudi Motorsport Company instead released a brief statement in which it explains: “We are truly mortified by the attack on the Aramco Distribution Station in Jeddah in the early afternoon today and we remain in contact with the Saudi safety authorities as well as F1 and the FIA to ensure the necessary safety and measures to ensure the safety of all Formula 1 visitors to the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, such as teams, drivers and investors “.
“The weekend program will continue as planned. The safety of our guests will continue to be our top priority and we look forward to welcoming all fans to this weekend of great motorsport and great fun.”
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