Formula 1 wants to return to Saudi Arabia for future races despite the concerns many drivers have expressed in the last few days regarding this Grand Prix after the unfortunate events on Friday during the first free practice session, when missile attack took place near the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. The second instalment of Formula 1’s estimated $55million-per-year agreement to race in Saudi Arabia saw the drivers locked in plenty of discussions regarding the possibility of not continuing the event after a missile strike on a nearby Aramco oil depot. Yemini Houthis claimed credit for the attack, which resulted in billowing smoke being visible from the Jeddah Corniche Circuit during Friday afternoon’s FP1.
Formula One now intends to return to Saudi Arabia, as the 2022 Grand Prix was in fact the second event in a 15-year deal to race in the Middle Eastern nation. At the same time, Formula 1 bosses plan to share further information with teams and drivers on the nature of the missile strike and the security arrangements which were made.
While Formula 1 and the FIA announced the event would continue as planned the 20 F1 drivers raised concerns over the safety of themselves and their team members. They met with team bosses and F1 representatives until the small hours of Saturday morning, eventually leaving the track at around 3am.
Drivers later admitted that they had been convinced that calling off the race at short notice would be impractical. However some confirmed they had been given assurances Formula 1 would evaluate whether it was safe to return to Jeddah in the following years.
Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali wanted to point out that the sport did not ignore ethical concerns around the race for financial reasons, that is the value of its contact with Saudi Arabia.
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“I don’t think that is a right consideration because no one can judge our morality, to be honest, on that respect,” he said. “So I think that [there] is a method of putting in place all the different things that has to be considered. I mean, where is the line? That’s the question. And our position is always, and it will be always that, we do believe that what we are doing will have a very positive impact in all the political situations for the best of our life and at our level. So this will be always the consideration that we’re going to take for our future in the sport all over the world. Because the good news is that Formula 1 is in a great moment where a lot of countries would like to host that. And of course, that could be a consideration that we need to consider for the future.” – the former Ferrari boss said.
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