Formula 1 has no intention of leaving Saudi Arabia out of the calendar for the next seasons, as the country’s government has confirmed it is ready to offer “assurances” after the incidents which took place last weekend near the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
Recent reports in the media have stated that the Formula 1 bosses have no plans to break their current deal with the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, despite the fact that drivers had to be convinced to continue the race weekend after a terrorist attack on an oil facility which was located just a few miles from the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. The terrible incident took place during the first free practice session on Friday, as the smoke from the oir plan was visible on the live onboards of the drivers. After FP1, a meeting was held between drivers, team principals and officials which lasted until the early hours of the next morning at which the concerns of the competitors were addressed.
Eventually it was decided to continue with the proceedings and no other major incident occurred, but many drivers expressed their concerns for the events and quested whether Formula 1 should return to Saudi Arabia.
In order to try and avoid a repeat of the controversy when Formula 1 returns to Jeddah in 2023, which remains the intention according to reports, Saudi Arabia’s minister for sport, His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al-Faisal, explained the country will do everything possible to ease concerns of those travelling to Formula 1 Grand Prix:
“We haven’t got into the details yet, but we are open to discussions. We are open to sit down, see where the issues are, what the assurances are they need. Whatever they want, we are here to host F1 as best as it can be anywhere in the world. So we will definitely have an open discussion with them to see what their feedback is, to discuss with them and see what their concerns are about. We will show them everything.” – he explained.
Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection from Puma!
Prince Abdulaziz added that Formula 1 has a positive impact on the country’s progress and hopes the sport will continue to help change perceptions of Saudi Arabia: “We are here for a long-term partnership for a reason because we see where we are going. We want to grow with the sport. We know the importance of F1 and we want to be part of the international community. We want to be present. We want everyone to come to Saudi Arabia and feel as if they are going anywhere else in the world. These issues unfortunately do happen, they happen everywhere in the world and we have to deal with them in the best possible way.” – he concluded.
Leave a Reply