FRIGHTENED F1 drivers were unanimously AGAINST racing in Sunday’s Saudi Grand Prix.
And they were only persuaded to carry on after lengthy talks with team bosses and F1 chiefs.
Lewis Hamilton and his fellow Formula One drivers were AGAINST racing in Sunday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Credit: Alamy There are claims some felt BULLIED into competing in Saturday’s qualifying, which was overshadowed by Haas ace Mick Schumacher’s 170mph crash.
Red Bull star Sergio Perez admitted that the drivers were “concerned about our safety” following Friday’s shocking Houthi rebels’ rocket attack on an oil depot just six miles from the circuit.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said: “Everybody is free to take a decision and if a team member decides not to race, they are free to do so.
“The drivers were pretty united in their initial discussions but then we were able to convince them the race was the best thing to do.
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Lewis Hamilton 16th in Saudi Arabian GP qualifying as Perez grabs first-ever pole “The drivers are stakeholders in the sport but we want to avoid a situation like yesterday where we did not know if the race was on or not.”
The shock developments happened here in the paddock early on Saturday morning, where drivers were locked in a meeting that lasted more than four hours.
It came after the missile attack happened midway through Friday practice and heightened fears that the race would also be targeted.
Drivers, still in race suits, debated the issue before team bosses, F1 and local officials stepped in to persuade them otherwise.
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On Saturday night, the drivers were staying tight-lipped about their conversations.
However, SunSport understands that after agreeing to get today’s race over the line, drivers will meet with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali to express concerns over racing in Saudi Arabia.
But the Italian played down the threat of a strike and added: “I think the word boycott is not the right word because we are not here to be here in two categories. We are here as one family as F1.”
Lewis Hamilton was quizzed about the potential boycott and said: “I’m not here to comment on that.
“We work together as a group. We discussed it and made a decision.”
It was a similar story for pole-sitter Sergio Perez, who said he had feared for his own safety when learning of the missile attacks.
He added: “We were concerned about our safety and also of the mechanics and engineers.
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“We felt it was the right thing to go ahead and race.”
Even after the dust had settled, Ferrari’s Mattia Binotto admitted his two drivers were NOT comfortable with racing in Jeddah.
When asked by SunSport if his drivers were fully behind the race going ahead as planned, he said: “I don’t think we said they are 100 per cent happy and fully relaxed.”
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
