A number of Formula One drivers expressed safety concerns ahead of Saudi Arabia Grand Prix following a missile attack on an oil facility around nine miles from Jeddah’s street circuit by Yemeni rebels.
On Friday, the second practice session was delayed due to assault on the Aramco facility and the drivers met with F1 chief Stefano Domenicali to discuss their concerns around the continuation of the race.
The drivers spend four hours with the F1 bosses in a meeting after the first practice session following with the team chiefs came out and say, “We will be racing”.
BBC Sport reported that a big number of drivers were concerned about the safety of the event but they were convinced to race after being informed of possible consequences of not racing.
They were told that if the race did not happen, teams and drivers may have difficulty leaving the country.
Later on Saturday, Formula One confirmed that the race will go on as scheduled.
“Formula 1 and the (governing body) FIA can confirm that following discussions with all the teams and drivers, the 2022 FIA Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix will continue as scheduled,” F1 said in a statement Saturday.
“Following the widely reported incident that took place in Jeddah on Friday, there has been extensive discussion between all stakeholders, the Saudi government authorities and security agencies who have given full and detailed assurances that the event is secure.”
F1 added that it has been agreed “with all stakeholders to maintain a clear and open dialogue throughout the event and for the future.”
There was a third and final practice session later Saturday scheduled to start at 5 p.m. local time with qualifying set to start under floodlights at 8 p.m.
“We went into long discussions between ourselves, with our team principals, and with the most senior people who run our sport,” drivers body GPDA said in a statement.
“A large variety of opinions were shared and debated and, having listened not only to the Formula One powers but also to the Saudi government ministers who explained how security measures were being elevated to the maximum, the outcome was a resolution that we would practise and qualify today and race tomorrow.”
In their GPDA statement, drivers said seeing the smoke had made it difficult to remain fully focused as they tackled the blind, high-speed sweeps and flat-out stretches of the track located on the shores of the Red Sea.
“Perhaps it is hard to comprehend if you have never driven an F1 car on this fast and challenging Jeddah track, but on seeing the smoke from the incident it was difficult to remain a fully focused race driver and erase natural human concerns,” they said.
(With inputs from agencies)
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