How close, one wonders, would a series of missiles need to reach before the cancellation of the ensemble is seriously considered? At least if there was a suspicion that the incident itself was part of a plan to raise awareness about the cause of the bombers? At the Milton Keynes’ Center: mk; Or the Bull Inn in Stony Stratford? Or the A43 gas station? Especially if the pounding had turned the area into a war zone twice a week? In Jeddah on Friday, it was announced that a huge puff of smoke hung like a real and virtual cloud over the second Formula 1 visit to this controversial kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Yemeni rebels launch rocket attack on Aramco oil depot 12 miles from F1 circuit Red Bull’s Max Ferstappen (second right) thought his car was on fire due to heavy smoke What if there were no guarantees that those inside Silverstone would be safe from attack? Well, at 5.45 p.m. in the Red Sea city of Jeddah on Friday, a reporter entered the press room to report that a giant, and as it turned out to be long-lived, erupted like a real and virtual cloud over the second F1. a visit to this controversial kingdom. The flame was 12 miles away, but close enough for Max Verstappen to contact the Red Bull team and ask if his car was on fire. It was not. It was the blow to one of Saudi Arabia’s Aramco facilities, with the Houthi rebel group, which controls a large part of northern Yemen, taking responsibility. This is what regularly happens here: a cruise missile attack was carried out on the same fuel depot, the Bulk plant in North Jeddah, on Sunday. No wonder the UK government is giving this advice to His Majesty’s nationals: “Terrorists are very likely to carry out attacks in Saudi Arabia. Attacks can be indiscriminate, including in places visited by foreigners … You need to be vigilant and follow the advice of local authorities. See Terrorism. “ Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton has previously stated that the sport should not be in Saudi Arabia It should be noted that Stefano Domenicali, CEO of Formula 1, is a decent man and we do not know the exact information he receives from the local authorities. We have to believe that he is reassured enough by the intelligence he hears to let 20 young men compete as part of a 1,500-strong F1 team tomorrow. But it was not at all reassuring that, at first, he walked out of the paddock with just one word of explanation to reporters last night. As he ran, he shrugged and said, “We feel safe.” A few words in Italian in a Danish TV crew and that was it. It was the lack of crisis that hardly reached the top of the circumstance. But, do not worry, there was still time to talk to the sidekicks in a group press conference along the mantra. All this time the sharp smoke was hanging in the wind that was blowing. Domenicali was later pushed to speak at length, but was still unclear about the level of assurance he had received that Jeddah’s Corniche, where the contaminated action would take place, would remain inviolable. Of course, there is no dispute between the Houthis and F1 itself, and the attacks are aimed at destabilizing oil prices and harassing Aramco – worth $ 2 trillion – and making them pay for repairs. But why is F1 coming here? I believe that sport can shed light on regimes that have not been reformed, opening them up to control that pushes them towards reform. It takes time in complicated situations and sports can never be a panacea. But it is not very cynical to say that the main reason why the travel circus is in Jeddah and is going to be in the capital Riyadh for a decade or more, once a specially designed circuit is built there, is the lure of 50 50 million. one year the Saudis pay F1 to host the race, one of the biggest bids in car racing history. That is why the show must continue. This is probably why Domenicali is a bit of a guard, a bit reluctant to be as careful as possible in his explanations. Nor, in this case, can it indicate that the sport is really helping to liberate the country. On Friday, the human rights group Reprieve claimed that another 16 people had been killed in the country following the mass execution of 81 men on March 12 and predicted that up to 500 could suffer the same fate this year. These concerns are felt in the paddock by several drivers, including Lewis Hamilton. Last year he said: “Do I feel comfortable here? I would not say that I do. “ On Friday, before all post-practice media sessions were mysteriously canceled, he added: “My position is still the same as last year. I heard that there is a letter sent to me by a 14-year-old who is on death row here. At 14 you do not know what the hell you do in life. “We drivers do not decide where we will go in the race, but we are obliged to try and do what we can. “But in the end, it’s the responsibility of those who have the power to make the difference, and we do not see enough.” We must not be naive. One man’s terrorist is another’s freedom fighter. Just last night I felt that F1 was too unlikely, too complacent, too blind, too deaf. Or as Hamilton remarked when the 2020 Australian Grand Prix was in balance with the start of Covid: “Cash is king.”
