Were F1 Drivers Forced to Race Despite Missile Attacks During the 2022 Saudi Arabian GP?

The 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix became a tense and controversial event after an oil depot near the Jeddah Corniche Circuit was targeted by Houthi rebels. In response to the attack, the entire F1 operation discussed the safety and security of everyone involved.

A crucial meeting was held on Friday evening, involving all 20 drivers, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, and managing director Ross Brawn. The meeting lasted for over four hours as the drivers, led by George Russell, director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA), expressed their concerns about continuing with the race.

Despite the tension within the drivers, Russell announced that they had decided not to boycott the race after receiving assurances about their safety. However, Ben Hunt, in his book ‘Lando Norris – A Biography,’ states that the drivers may have been forced into participating in the race.

Hunt writes, “There were suggestions that the drivers were warned that there would be consequences should they not fulfill their obligation to race for their teams in this round of the F1 championship.”

Following the meeting, F1 released a statement emphasizing that they were in close contact with the relevant authorities and that the event would continue as planned.

Drivers were concerned for their safety despite the assurances

The Saudi Arabian government and local security agencies were heavily involved in the discussions, providing assurances to F1 and the teams. These assurances were critical in convincing the drivers to proceed with the race.

The GPDA later acknowledged the difficulty of the situation but ultimately agreed to race after hearing from F1 leaders and Saudi government ministers. Their statement on Saturday reflected the drivers’ concerns: “On seeing the smoke from the incident, it was difficult to remain a fully focused race driver and erase natural human concerns…”

“Having listened not only to the F1 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 practice and qualify today and race tomorrow,” the statement added as per BBC Sport.

Despite these assurances, Ferrari team principal, Mattia Binotto revealed that there were still concerns among the drivers. Binotto stated, “The drivers were concerned, all of us were concerned. We had assurances from the F1 and Saudi government – assurances that everything would be safe.”