A Saudi Aramco oil storage facility located near the Jeddah F1 track was reportedly hit by a terrorist attack just as F1 kicked off its first practice session on Friday.
Black was seen billowing in the distance as the facility was ablaze, with initial reports pointing to a missile attack launched by Yemen's rebel Houthi militia.
An F1 spokesman said: "We are waiting for further information from the authorities on what has happened."
Yemen's Houthi militia have been heavily targeting Saudi Arabia's energy infrastructure since the beginning of the year with missiles and drones, which has led to heightened security around this weekend's F1 event in Jeddah.
The Jeddah Corniche Circuit is located approximately 10 km from the Saudi Aramco facility that was attacked, and the burning oil could be smelt at the venue, so much so that a worried Red Bull's Max Verstappen radioed in during the session to inform his team of the smell.
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
Sergio Perez believes Red Bull Racing will be in a great place despite the departure…
We’re on the eve of another adrenaline-pumping weekend of action in Florida, with Formula 1's…
Lewis Hamilton has put departing Red Bull designer Adrian Newey at the top of his…
Nico Hulkenberg says Sauber CEO Andreas Seidl was the “driving factor” behind his decision to…
Honda says it hopes to continue supporting its protégé Yuki Tsunoda despite its departure from…
The news of Adrian Newey's departure from Red Bull has cast a shadow of uncertainty…