F1 drivers convinced to race in the 2022 Saudi Arabian GP after 4-hour deadlock

The cloud over the Saudi Arabian GP got bigger when the Aramco facility, only 10kms away from the track, was attacked by missiles. The impact and the resultant fire could even be seen from the track as a huge blaze broke out in the facility.

Consequently, there was a 30-minute delay in the start of FP2 as the teams were in a meeting with the Saudi Motorsport authority. They were assured that the race weekend would go ahead as per schedule, and were in direct contract with the Saudi authorities to ensure all necessary security and safety measures continue to be implemented.

After FP2, things took a turn for the worse as the drivers took a stand against going ahead with the Saudi Arabian GP. A half-hour meeting between the drivers, team bosses, F1 CEO Stephano Domenicali, and F1 MD Ross Brawn went on for four hours as they deliberated their future course of action.

After the meeting, it did appear that the drivers were convinced by the team officials to go ahead and race. Team principals like Toto Wolff echoed the thoughts of the race officials, calling the track 'the safest place in the region'. In the aftermath, the Mercedes boss said:

“We, all the team principals, have been assured we are protected here. That’s probably the safest place you can be in Saudi Arabia at the moment and that’s why we are racing.”

Christian Horner echoed the sentiments of his Mercedes counterpart as he said that the sport shouldn't be bullied in these matters. Speaking to the media, Horner said:

“I think the sport has to stand together collectively. Any act of terrorism cannot be condoned, and the sport shouldn’t be bullied into a position that a situation like that just isn’t acceptable. Stefano [Domenicali] and the president [Mohammed ben Sulayem], they’re dealing with it, and there have been all the assurances from the organizers and we will be going to race.”

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Saudi Arabian GP not the first time drivers have refused to race

This is not the first time F1 drivers have refused to race. One of the more famous instances of drivers objecting dates back to the 1982 Kyalami GP.

At the time, prominent drivers like Niki Lauda took a stand against new clauses added to the new driver's superlicense agreements. The drivers refused to race under the new clauses and after a lot of deliberation, officials finally caved in and agreed to roll back the directives of the new agreement.

While F1 has claimed that the Saudi Arabian GP will go ahead as planned, it remains to be seen what new developments will take place over the next couple of days.