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F1 boss Stefano Domenicali plans to battle drivers to safeguard the £50m-a-year Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, but he will face the grid to discuss their safety and human rights concerns
- The drivers wanted to sit out last weekend’s race in Jeddah after a bomb blast
- It reportedly took a long meeting to persuade them not to boycott the race
- Saudi Arabia has a bumper £50m-a-year, decade-long contract to host races
Formula One boss Stefano Domenicali will fight any attempt by drivers to kill off the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix.
The sport’s chief executive will face the grid to discuss their safety and human rights concerns, with talks almost certain to take place before the next round in Melbourne a week on Sunday.
The drivers wanted to sit out last weekend’s race after a Houthi missile hit an oil depot 12 miles east of the Jeddah paddock on Friday afternoon. They were finally persuaded to compete after talks lasting into the early hours of Saturday morning. Part of the compromise was that they could contribute to the debrief.
F1 boss Stefano Domenicali (centre left) won’t budge in his desire to keep the Saudi Arabian GP
The drivers wanted to sit out last weekend’s Saudi Arabia Grand Prix after a bomb blast
An oil depot close to the Jeddah circuit was bombed on Friday, with smoke clouding the track
‘If ever there was a time to drop the grand prix from the calendar, last weekend was it,’ one source said.
‘But it was on. That shows there is a strong commitment from F1 to keep the race.
‘There’s at least a decade to run on the contract and it seems the intention is to see that through.
Drivers, including Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton (pictured), were concerned about racing after the incident but crunch talks on Friday…
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Source : dailymail
