The commercial partnership between Formula 1 and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia appeared to have come close to breaking down yesterday after an Aramco refinery caught fire. Houthi rebels from Yemen have claimed responsibility for missile attack on an oil refinery ten miles from the circuit where the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix takes place this weekend. Then on Friday, F1 announced that the weekend would continue as planned after race organizers made security commitments. However, drivers feel differently.
An hour after Friday’s final practice session, F1 President Stefano Domenicali and series chief executive Ross Brawn held a meeting with F1 drivers about the situation. The meeting dragged on for hours until Domenicali and Brawn left, prompting scrutiny from drivers. Team principals, many of whom had left the previous lap, made their way to the drivers’ meeting. The team bosses eventually left to hold their own meeting to take control of the race.
The meeting finally ended around 2:30 a.m. local time, four and a half hours after the meeting began. The Mercedes driver and one of the Grand Prix Drivers Association directors, George Russell headed the race controls, presumably to leave the drivers’ decisions to team bosses when other drivers left. out of the race. A press conference was scheduled for 3:00 a.m., but Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner told the waiting media that “we’re going to race” as he left the venue.
Based on BBC Sport, the riders opposed to competing in Jeddah were convinced by the information given by the team principals. It is explicitly mentioned that “part of this information concerns the possible consequences of not racing, such as the fact that teams and drivers can leave the country as easily as possible.” What if the race doesn’t take place?
This is not the first time Saudi authorities have restricted a foreign event from leaving the country. Similar to Formula 1, World Wrestling Entertainment signed a ten-billion-dollar deal with Saudi Arabia in 2018. As part of the deal, WWE performs two shows in the country each year. . In 2019, CEO Vince McMahon decided to cut off the live TV feed for the second show of the year because the company had not yet received payment for the first show.
Allegedly, Saudi officials, including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, were angered by WWE’s response. Company charter aircraft are not allowed to departand armed officials did not allow passengers to leave the plane until the dispute was resolved.
In fact, it is impossible for everyone on the F1 circuit to be prevented from leaving Saudi Arabia on commercial flights. Most likely, the championship’s goods will not be allowed through customs out of the country. I wouldn’t want to be in a position to actually consider taking that gamble, though.
Today is the seven-year anniversary of the Saudi-led invasion of Yemen to intervene in a civil war. Saudi Arabia joined the F1 host nations of Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, with support from both the United States and the United States. Al Qaeda. This fight went well before F1 signed. Formula 1 has succeeded in signing with Saudi Arabia. Now, it has to be in there.
