“We are Not Blind” – F1 CEO Responds to Recent Accusations Over Controversial Saudi Arabian GP

As the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix has finally come to an end, the controversies surrounding it seem never-ending. One of the most controversial races in recent times, the Jeddah Corniche Circuit has given the fans to talk about the pros and cons of hosting the championship. However, the criticism reached the F1 governing body, and they expressed that they already had eyes on the situation.

The continuation of the Jeddah race has attracted heavy criticism after FIA decided to host the event. On March 25, Saudi Arabia’s premier Oil and Petroleum Company Aramco was hit with missiles. The petroleum storage facility is just by the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

Talking about the continuation of the Grand Prix F1’s Chief Stefano Domenicali conveyed, “I think that it’s not a matter of question mark. It is a matter of understanding the situation. We are not blind, but we don’t have to forget one thing: that this country, also through F1 and the sport on which we believe, is doing a massive step forward.”

Moreover, Saudi Arabia is a country often criticized for its human rights record. On this, Domenicali further stated, “You cannot pretend to change a culture that is more than a millennium in a blink of an eye. The resources they’re putting in place to move forward you can see here. Of course, there are tensions inside, there are things that have to be improved. We don’t want to be political on that.”

Involvement of F1 in Saudi Arabia

2021 Jeddah race was Saudi Arabia’s first race in F1. This year marked the second year when F1 decided to host the Grand Prix in the Gulf. Amid all this, Lewis Hamilton publicly commented that he is not comfortable racing in Saudi Arabia.

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Known for his social work, Hamilton stated that it was not his choice to be in the middle-east country. Apart from this, the F1 drivers weren’t fully happy to participate this year after the missile attack.

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After taking everything into account, FIA decided to have a go for the Grand Prix. F1 is a billion-dollar sporting industry and hosting a Grand Prix requires millions of dollars. All in all, canceling the Grand Prix might have caused the authorities to incur heavy losses. With that said, the F1 governing body thinks the situation will improve in mere future and there’s no reason to worry as the FIA always cares about the safety of the drivers and the teams.