Saudi GP chiefs ensure F1 teams and drivers of safety of 2023 race

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix chiefs have engaged in talks with F1 teams and drivers recently to ensure the latter that next year's race in Jeddah will take place in a secure and safe environment.

Last March, the second round of the 2022 F1 world championship was marked by a missile attack perpetrated by Yemen's Houthi rebels on a Saudi Aramco oil storage facility located just 10 km away from the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

The incident rocked the paddock and cast a cloud of doubt over the event, as drivers mulled a boycott of the race during a lengthy meeting of the GPDA on Friday evening.

Although a blanket of discomfort lingered at the track, Saudi authorities provided reassurances to Formula 1's chiefs and the race weekend eventually unfolded as scheduled.

But six months on, as preparations are underway for next year's event in Jeddah, Saudi GP chiefs have met with teams and drivers at recent races to provide them with the assurances they need and a run-down on the security measures that will be in place in 2023.

Last weekend, Saudi Arabia's sport minister Prince Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al-Faisal stopped by Singapore for more talks with Formula 1, after which he met with selected members of the media.

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"We spoke to them about what necessary measures have been taken, working with F1 in particular, and our number one priority is safety for everyone," said Prince Abdulaziz, quoted by Motorsport.com.

"That's not just around the track, but around the Kingdom.

"Funnily enough, three days after that [attack], there was an announcement of a ceasefire. So I think with all the media coming [to the race] and so on, it was a way to show aggression and to pick up on the media out there.

"But we were confident that security and safety was there at the time."

Prince Abdulaziz said that this year's drama had been a learning experience for Saudi GP organizers, who admitted that communication with the F1 community regarding on-site security ahead of the race had not been optimal.

"I think what we need to do more is keeping an open dialogue and an open communication between us," he said.

"For us even it was a learning curve, so maybe we didn't reach out to a lot of the teams and so on before the first race. We saw that that was necessary [now], so we took that action."

"We know that we have some concerns regarding some issues. We're not perfect and we never claimed that we are.

"But at least we're learning from our experiences and we're taking action to make it better in the future."

Prince Abdulaziz insisted that every effort is being made to alleviate Formula 1's concerns regarding its 2023 race for which more security measures will be put in place.

"We are working with F1 to make sure that any concerns that any of the drivers, teams or individuals, even the fans, have, that we make sure that we fulfil these concerns," he said.

"We know that it's safe, but we need to explain what measures have been done.

"More than 4000 troops were deployed during that event just to make sure [of that], because when these things happen, you are afraid people that want to aggravate will pick up on it.

"So we just made sure no one affects the safety of the event and the city.

"For us, safety and security is even bigger than F1. It's about a nation, so that's our number one priority. And we are working with them."

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