A missile attack on an Aramco oil facility (main sponsor of Formula 1) less than 20 kilometers from the Jeddah circuit last Friday at the Saudi Arabian GP, made the future of that same race and of the event for the next editions enter into discussion.
Although the directors of each team were satisfied with the information and the security provided by the local authorities, the pilots were not entirely convinced, and they met for more than four hours on Friday night before making the decision to continue with the event.
The heads of Formula 1 have promised to start talks with the teams and drivers in the coming weeks to discuss everything that happened in Saudi Arabia, as well as the next steps for the category.
Although those talks have raised questions about the future of the race, Motorsport.com knows that F1 intends to keep the event on the calendar for years to come.
On that basis, it is understood that rather than talk about whether or not the race goes ahead, it will be more about discussing with the teams and drivers the safety of the circuits, as well as any changes the Saudi authorities plan to make to 2023.
The Saudi government itself is open to learning lessons and has pledged to do everything it can to ensure that members of the paddock feel as safe as possible when they have to return to Jeddah.
Saudi Arabia’s sports minister, Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al-Faisal , told selected media including Motorsport.com : “We haven’t gone into details, but we are open to talk.”
“We are open to sit down, see where the problems are and what guarantees they need.”
“We are here to host F1 in the best possible way. So we will definitely have a discussion to see what their perceptions are , talk to them and see what their concerns are. We will show them everything.”
The terrorist attack on the oil facility, against a backdrop of ongoing concerns about human rights abuses in the country, cast a shadow over the second race of the 2022 F1 season in Saudi Arabia.
But despite the negative headlines, Abdulaziz said hosting an F1 race is still beneficial for them, as he believes having the spotlight on the country for a few days could be key to the positive change he says they want to make.
“We are here with a long-term partnership for a reason, because we see where we are going. We want to grow together with F1, we know how important a category like this is and we want to be part of the international community. We want to be present. everyone come to Saudi Arabia and feel like they are anywhere else in the world.”
“Unfortunately, these problems happen, but they happen everywhere in the world and we have to deal with them in the best possible way.”
In addition, he explained how the arrival of sporting events such as Formula E and F1 has already forced the country to open its mind and be more responsible. One example is that Saudi Arabia has had to change more than 200 laws to allow major car events to take place.
“We have always been accused of being excluders,” he said. “The first tourist visa we gave was for Formula E. It was the first time we issued tourist visas and it was for that event.”
“From there, all of a sudden, we went from being one of the most difficult visas to get to one of the easiest visas to acquire.”
“Nobody understood what Saudi Arabia is. We are telling the world to come and understand what we are, and now we are being accused of being too open. We are changing things very, very, very fast and we will continue to do so.”
Abdulaziz also admitted that there is a lot of negativity about Saudi Arabia and acknowledged that the country still needs to improve in some areas, but explained that it is unrealistic to expect that everything can change overnight.
“We are a very young nation. We are learning, we are moving forward and we have a lot to develop and a lot to thrive in, also a lot to fix.”
“There is a change taking place. Today you can see women and men working together everywhere in the kingdom, even in ministries, where before women were not even allowed to go into public areas.”
“So all of these things are part of the change. Some things can be changed very quickly, but some things take longer, we’re here to listen, talk, discuss whatever it takes.”
“I am sure you have seen many politicians visit our kingdom in recent weeks and they have talked about all these issues. I repeat, we are here to move forward and make Saudi Arabia a better place to live and for a better future,” he concluded.
