F1 chiefs and team bosses ward off boycott threat in Jeddah

Friday evening's Saudi Arabian GP drivers briefing extended well into the early hours of Saturday as drivers voiced their concerns over the safety of this weekend's event in Jeddah following the nearby missile attack that had taken place earlier in the day.

But a boycott by F1 drivers of this weekend's event has been avoided.

A missile launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels hit a Saudi Aramco oil storage facility located just 10 km away from the Jeddah Corniche Circuit as FP1 was in full swing.

The event compelled F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali to summon team representatives and drivers to a meeting ahead of FP2 to inform the group of what had taken place.

However, everyone assembled for a second meeting after the second practice session with Domenicali and FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem during which reassurances were provided by Saudi Arabia's authorities over F1's safety, with Ben Sulayem insisting that based on Saudi intelligence it was only the country's energy infrastructure that the Houthis were targeting and not civilians, nor the Grand Prix.

The teams unanimously agreed to continue their Saudi Arabian GP weekend, but it later came to light that many drivers had concerns about the situation.

And those concerns were tabled by the group - convening under the banner of the Grand Prix Drivers Association - after the routine drivers briefing conducted by FIA race director Eduardo Freitas, to the point where Domenicali and Ross Brawn joined the meeting to hear out the drivers' views.

• Read also: F1 teams unanimously agree to continue Saudi Arabian GP weekend

The pair eventually left the room but after several hours of talks, and well past midnight, F1 team bosses were then called into the GPDA meeting to also consider their drivers' concerns, alleviate their worries and head off any risk of a boycott.

The meeting concluded at 2:30am local time, but few were willing to comment on what had transpired during the talks, although it appeared that the unanimous decision to proceed with the event as scheduled was confirmed.

However, according to the BBC, part of the information conveyed to the drivers destined to convince the group to race this weekend related to the potential consequences of not racing, "such as how easily teams and drivers would be able to leave the country if the race did not happen", an astonishing claim if true.

AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly was one of the few drivers to comment on the extraordinary meeting, although he remained vague on specifics.

"It was important to discuss the situation between all of us, but I won’t say more for the moment," he told French broadcaster Canal Plus.

"I think it’s important for everyone to give their opinion a bit and we’re all aligned. We are all aligned with our intentions."

Update:

On Saturday morning, the FIA and Formula 1 issued a statement in which they confirmed that the Saudi Arabian GP would go ahead as scheduled.

"Formula 1 and the 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," it said.

"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.

"It has been agreed with all stakeholders to maintain a clear and open dialogue throughout the event and for the future."

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