Saudi Arabian Grand Prix amid Yemeni rebel attacks

It is around 17:45 p.m. in Jeddah. The pilots of F1 begin the last quarter of the first free practice session of the Grand Prix. On social networks, the first amateur images of a fire in an oil depot in Jeddah began to emerge. As he completed his last laps of the wheels, Max Verstappen also complained of a smell of smoke in the radio, without knowing whether or not this had a link with the surrounding fire.

READ ALSO : A meeting will take place after the 2nd free practice session 

From the south gate of the Media Center, we were able to see for ourselves (see photo) a huge cloud of smoke heading towards the airport, which is located a dozen kilometers southeast of the Formula 1 circuit, without any sound being heard. 

We can see it from the F1 paddock. https://t.co/HfB2tKHyYd pic.twitter.com/pzFFZrbjiG

— Jérémy Satis (@JeremySatis) March 25, 2022

The attack claimed by the Houthis

According to the AP agency, it would be a depot for the Saudi oil company Aramco, which has already been attacked by the Yemeni Houthi rebels in recent weeks, who have in fact claimed responsibility for a series of attacks against the kingdom, again according to this same dispatch from the Associated Press agency. 

A little later, around 19 p.m., the AFP in turn released a dispatch, explicitly speaking of an attack by Yemeni Houthi rebels. Finally at 19:42 p.m. (local time), AFP reported that the Houthis had claimed responsibility for the attack. As a reminder, the Houthis have been rebelling since 2015 against Yemeni power, which is held by the coalition of Gulf countries, led precisely by the Saudi kingdom. 

Without knowing whether this was linked to a possible threat or not, the plane which brought us to Jeddah on Thursday evening was also unable to land for almost an hour (at 23:30 p.m. local time ), due to a temporary closure of the airport. As for Formula 1, it has still not officially communicated and says it is waiting for more information from the authorities to do so. For now, the second free practice session has been delayed by fifteen minutes.