Aramco Oil Depot attacked (AlJazeera)
The 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix will be taking place despite a shocking missile attack in Jeddah
The first practice session for the 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix took place yesterday. Just as the session was going on, thick fumes were visible, spewing out from a nearby oil depot (approximately 7 miles away) owned by Aramco.
A while later, it came to light that a missile attack on the depot was the reason for the same. Yemen’s Houthi rebel group claimed responsibility.
Drivers and officials were shaken following the sudden missile attack. A meeting that went late into the night saw the drivers hold talks before deciding to go ahead with the race as planned.
It is worth noting that Aramco is a Saudi Arabian public petroleum and natural gas company based in the city of Dhahran.
The company announced a long-term global partnership with F1 back in March 2020.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who won last week’s Bahrain GP, continued where he left off at the practice session for the Saudi Arabian GP.
The Monegasque driver was the quickest in FP2. He was closely followed by Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz.
Mercedes came fifth and sixth quickest – courtesy, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.
Kevin Magnussen on Haas F1 who finished 5th at the Bahrain GP, was the slowest among the lot.
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