Saudi Arabia Grand Prix: Fire breaks out at Jeddah oil depot ahead of F1 race weekend

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Link: Saudi Arabia Grand Prix: Fire breaks out at Jeddah oil depot ahead of F1 race weekend | F1 News

 

F1 said in a statement: "The position at the moment is that we are waiting for further information from the authorities on what has happened."

 

A fire erupted at an oil depot in Jeddah on Friday ahead of the F1 Grand Prix race scheduled to take place in the Saudi Arabian city, with Yemen's Houthis rebels acknowledging that they had launched a series of attacks on the kingdom.

 

A large black smoke cloud could be seen from the F1 track towards the end of first practice, and Max Verstappen reported on team radio that he could smell "burning" from the cockpit of his Red Bull car.

 

Practice continued as normal - as did qualifying for F2 - and there is no suggestion that Sunday's race will not go ahead.

 

An F1 statement said: "The position at the moment is that we are waiting for further information from the authorities on what has happened."

 

Saudi Arabia and the state-run oil giant Saudi Aramco did not immediately acknowledge the blaze, though it appeared to be centered on the same fuel depot that the Houthis attacked in recent days.

 

The cause of the blaze was not immediately known.

 

F1 drivers have not yet spoken to media, although near the end of first practice Verstappen said on team radio: "I smell a bit of a burning feeling. I am not sure if it is my car, or another car."

 

His engineer Gianpiero Lambiase replied: "We are happy it is not your car."...

 

It seems to have echoes of the Buncefield fire from 2005 (superficially anyway)

 

This is a developing news story.

[caffrey]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/60880598

 

Part of this information involved the possible consequences of not racing, such as how easily teams and drivers would be able to leave the country if the race did not happen.

 

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