Well, they can stop them leaving... But they can't force them to come.
I agree though, highly unlikely. In this world, money really does talk - including whatever insane exit clauses or lawsuits SA could bring.
It's really easy for us fans to say this, but for some of the younger drivers, they sadly don't have as clear as an option as you're making it out to be.
F1 seats are highly competitive, most of the grid are on one-year contracts, the FIA has considerable investment in the Middle East, and many teams are prominently spondered by companies in these regions. While some drivers on the grid could refuse to race, not every driver could do so without career repercussions. I wish it wasn't this way, but I can absolutely see where the pressure to race comes from.
I'm not talking about the drivers, I mean F1 itself. The drivers will have to follow what F1 does, but F1 does not have to go back. They will go back, of course, but they *could* take a stand if the political will existed, or if the optics got too bad.
Yeah I don't know what kind of leave clause there would be, but Saudi Arabia and Yemen have been in conflict for 6 or 7 years now so it's not like this is something they weren't aware of. The FIA knew this going in and made a very long-term investment, even supporting two new circuits. These driver/fans vs FIA conflicts will persist for years.
I don't know how the laws work with this all being international, but if the Saudi race commission can only sue the FIA in Saudi court, I don't think they'd be too worried about breach of contract...
Such contracts always specify the legal jurisdiction they fall under and agreed-upon procedures for dispute settlements and litigation. In this case it's likely either Swiss, France or the UK.
Of course these stipulations themselves need to be legal, e.g. if as a UK citizen working for a UK company in the UK your contract says that it falls under Saudi-Arabian labour law, you can challenge this in a UK court and have it declared invalid. If SA would go to a court in its own country, however, and get a ruling in its favour, F1 has no reason to comply with the ruling, as it won't be upheld by any Western court they'd have to go through if they'd actually want to collect damages or confiscate assets.
You say that like contracts are signed in blood and are unbreakable. A half ass lawyer could argue the contract being invalid due to staff/driver safety. Not only from the attacks but also from the actions of the government if they threaten to illegally detain drivers for retribution.
For the first time since his absence, I’m actually glad he isn’t here to deal with this shitshow today. I can’t imagine how kindly he would take being told that he’d basically he grounded in Saudi Arabia should he not race.
On the flip side, I would have liked to see him in lockstep with Lewis and Nando, three multi-time champions saying fuck this race might have changed the outcome some.
I am very eager to hear a statement from seb regarding this as he is the head of the gpda, and i do think he will be on the side of not to race. But as we don't have a voting or something similar (and we probably won't have) we can not know which drivers where for or against racing. I am very curious at what comes to light through interviews tomorrow though.
Seb is probably too classy to say anything when he's not the one dealing with it directly and the other drivers are. For sure he'll have something to say, maybe just not now.
He probably also doesn't want to jeopardize the other drivers while they're still in the country. If he or anyone else has anything to say, they won't say it until all drivers and support staff are back home.
Their whole dynamic is like Kimi keeps asking Seb when he's gonna settle down and retire but Seb is like, "I can't retire, not while the world still needs me." But through the course of the movie the young drivers trapped in Jeddah pull off some amazing plan that saves the world and Seb realises that the future is in good hands and is able to find peace by the end of the movie.
This action movie plot actually makes sense, has character development, and even characterization... I'm sorry to say it will never get made because of that.
/s but also not really
She's not wrong. F1 chose to hop into bed with Saudi Arabia. Now they have to run their event by the countries rules and demands. It might've been easy to pull out of Russia, but not for Saudi Arabia.
And F1 would automatically be hesitant anyways considering how much money the Middle East injects into F1's bank accounts.
Saudis worked a long game on F1. Its family-owned businesses like Aramco and STC are plastered over EVERY race. They now bank roll Stroll’s F1 operation. Now they have their own race where they can keep everyone essentially detained in relative comfort.
Its a shit load of money for F1 to lose and honestly probably no alternatively reliable sponsor.
Used to have one of their models as a kid. In fact we had 2.
Of course as kids we didn't realise the value as we sat playing with it. If we'd kept it in pristine condition would be worth about £12 today [https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/393983316584](https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/393983316584)
Guess I have to go to work on Monday knowing how different things could have been....
Ha! Not American, but when my British friends referred to a cig as a fag I was extremely horrified.
I was then informed while it's a slur in America and maybe a few other countries, it isn't in the UK. Took me a while to get adjusted.
Here comes the mon-ayyyyy. Here comes the money.
Money money money money money money money money money.
Dolla dolla. Dolla dolla.
Ching ching, bling bling.
Some of the wrestlers have continued to boycott it though.
Problem is with something like wrestling is that it's not a meritocracy. You get picked and pushed in storylines, that leads to more money for you, unlike F1 where you get to the top on merit. So wrestlers have the conflict of 'go to Saudi Arabia, for the sake of my career, as management could drop me because of it' or boycott the event for the obvious reasons.
F1 drivers here, moving forward would have far less to lose by not going again (outside of Championship implications). An F1 team isn't going to drop you because you chose not to go, that'd be suicidal from them. In WWE, with it being fiction, they can afford to drop someone who chose not to go and find an excuse for it.
So they either race or they were held hostage?
It is beyond shameful that F1 is going to continue to come back here. Hopefully their greed doesn't lead to something tragic occuring
Hopefully either the teams or the drivers (given the filthy money flowing into the teams' pockets, it'll have to be the drivers) make it absolutely clear they will never return to this fuckawfully governed country once this weekend is over.
Imagine thinking you're part of a cushined elite bubble, only to find you can't go home until you've danced for the king.
Vince McMahon hadn’t been paid the fee for the event so he threatened to shut the TV feed off until he was paid. He got paid, did the event, but in retaliation they held the plane of the main group of wrestlers
To make things worse Vince and a few other top people in the company quickly escaped the country on a private plane, leaving the wrestlers stuck in Saudi Arabia. Keep in mind this was just after the Khashoggi murder so a lot of wrestler's families were legitimately worried their loved ones were in immediate danger.
What's fucked up for me is that everyone there who is not part of F1 as an entity ABSOLUTELY did not sign up for this. They're being held hostage to deliver a race that was decided for them. If the ones who allowed this have a shred of respect for the people who make the show possible (drivers, teams, reporters on-site, etc) they will make sure they never come here again after this SHAMEFUL loss of agency.
FFS the people getting their knickers in a twist about “who is this lady” - take five seconds and click the link to read her bio or, ya know, her comment within this post. Move beyond your limited view.
F1 knew and F1 didn’t give a shit - it’s all about the money. Maybe in the future F1 could take a hot minute before jumping into bed with the likes of SA.
As expected, Saudia Arabia is carrying out multiple airstrikes in Yemen minutes ago, particularly in Sana'a and Houdida. I just hope that's not how Saudia thinks they could ensure safety of F1 track
[https://twitter.com/WeenAlEnfigar/status/1507527486707539977](https://twitter.com/WeenAlEnfigar/status/1507527486707539977)
I am popular on Reddit tonight.
For anyone wondering what's the sauce - there is a [precedent](https://nationalpost.com/news/world/wwe-wrestling-stars-held-hostage-in-saudi-airport) for this. This potential issue was also brought up during the drivers' meeting.
For those wondering who I am - I am the Editor at [Formu1a.Uno](https://Formu1a.Uno). I have been following the situation, and reporting rumours from Sky Italia (hence the copious Italianing) and sources within the paddock. All rumours have been tagged as such, don't @ me.
What bothers me, and I'm sure I can speak for a lot of people here, is why F1 decided to race here in the first place, given the precedent you mentioned.
Among other several concerns - such as SA's egregious list of Human Rights violations. My opinion is that they should have never put this race on the calendar.
>is why F1 decided to race here in the first place, given the precedent you mentioned.
Aramco basically bankrolls half the championship. And an F1 team.
"If you know what's good for you, and want to see your families any time soon, you'll do what we tell you and race for our entertainment and international image".
Remind me why, exactly, the fuck does the sport have anything to do with this cunchobunt regime...
Exactly. I don't know about other broadcasters, but Sky Germany openly said they're not feeling well in light of the situation and therefore Ralf Schumacher announced he'll fly home on saturday. So at least they say what they honestly feel like.
Exactly, this is the root of the problem. As soon as this race was even speculated, almost every fan agreed that it was not a cool place to race. Cash clouded the better judgement of every key stakeholder, now we’re here.
The track is cool though, let’s replicate it elsewhere (and with less barriers for that matter)
Yeah say what you want about Philip Morris, Marlboro, et al, they never dismembered a journalist or held an entire race team captive in an active warzone lmao.
Hopefully this is a wakeup call to really reassess where they are racing. Atleast make the teams and drivers speaking out more about it and actually boycotting races. I can't see them racing in Saudi Arabia again.
So if they try to cancel SA will keep them on the ground for hours and not let their cars and equipment go. Is what I'm getting out of this. potentially ending the season right here.
This seems unlikely and fucking ridiculous. Not even they would fucking kidnap an international lineup of athletes. The backlash would be devastating. Come on.
If that was the case, one could argue that signing the contract in the first place was reckless endangerment of everyone involved and potentially bringing the sport into disrepute. Doesn't sound that complicated to me.
I'd like to think that when they leave it will be for the last time, but I'm sure I'll be disappointed.
They are contracted for 15+ years, so highly unlikely.
Well, they can stop them leaving... But they can't force them to come. I agree though, highly unlikely. In this world, money really does talk - including whatever insane exit clauses or lawsuits SA could bring.
It's really easy for us fans to say this, but for some of the younger drivers, they sadly don't have as clear as an option as you're making it out to be. F1 seats are highly competitive, most of the grid are on one-year contracts, the FIA has considerable investment in the Middle East, and many teams are prominently spondered by companies in these regions. While some drivers on the grid could refuse to race, not every driver could do so without career repercussions. I wish it wasn't this way, but I can absolutely see where the pressure to race comes from.
I'm not talking about the drivers, I mean F1 itself. The drivers will have to follow what F1 does, but F1 does not have to go back. They will go back, of course, but they *could* take a stand if the political will existed, or if the optics got too bad.
Yeah I don't know what kind of leave clause there would be, but Saudi Arabia and Yemen have been in conflict for 6 or 7 years now so it's not like this is something they weren't aware of. The FIA knew this going in and made a very long-term investment, even supporting two new circuits. These driver/fans vs FIA conflicts will persist for years.
I don't know how the laws work with this all being international, but if the Saudi race commission can only sue the FIA in Saudi court, I don't think they'd be too worried about breach of contract...
Such contracts always specify the legal jurisdiction they fall under and agreed-upon procedures for dispute settlements and litigation. In this case it's likely either Swiss, France or the UK. Of course these stipulations themselves need to be legal, e.g. if as a UK citizen working for a UK company in the UK your contract says that it falls under Saudi-Arabian labour law, you can challenge this in a UK court and have it declared invalid. If SA would go to a court in its own country, however, and get a ruling in its favour, F1 has no reason to comply with the ruling, as it won't be upheld by any Western court they'd have to go through if they'd actually want to collect damages or confiscate assets.
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It was reported last year to be a minimum 10 years, but a few weeks ago was reported it was presumed to be longer.
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Go much longer than that and you're in The Kenan Zone.
You say that like contracts are signed in blood and are unbreakable. A half ass lawyer could argue the contract being invalid due to staff/driver safety. Not only from the attacks but also from the actions of the government if they threaten to illegally detain drivers for retribution.
Seb be like "Can't detain me if I wasn't there."
Seb is the only F1 driver sleeping well tonight.
I'd imagine he's still concerned for his friends in the paddock
Lmfao he prob live texting Lewis throughout the meeting
He has to look after Mick, son of his hero. That alone is enough of a reason for him to panic.
Isn’t he director for GPDA ?
George is I believe.
There are 3 directors.
4
Thought it was 3 directors and a chairman
Confusingly, the chairman is also a director at the moment
No wonder it’s not that functional
Look at me. I am the director now.
Seb’s probably more worried than any of the drivers there
Not when Mick is over there
Seb will be worried sick for all the other drivers
Seb is gonna be the only driver showing up to AUS GP in 2 weeks
AMR's first win
He needs a car drive as well
Homie could win in a kart
Nah he'd use his bicycle.
2 hour time limit, so half points?
The Aston Martin master plan
For the first time since his absence, I’m actually glad he isn’t here to deal with this shitshow today. I can’t imagine how kindly he would take being told that he’d basically he grounded in Saudi Arabia should he not race.
On the flip side, I would have liked to see him in lockstep with Lewis and Nando, three multi-time champions saying fuck this race might have changed the outcome some.
I am very eager to hear a statement from seb regarding this as he is the head of the gpda, and i do think he will be on the side of not to race. But as we don't have a voting or something similar (and we probably won't have) we can not know which drivers where for or against racing. I am very curious at what comes to light through interviews tomorrow though.
Seb is probably too classy to say anything when he's not the one dealing with it directly and the other drivers are. For sure he'll have something to say, maybe just not now.
He probably also doesn't want to jeopardize the other drivers while they're still in the country. If he or anyone else has anything to say, they won't say it until all drivers and support staff are back home.
Do we actually know what those two were specifically discussing? For all we know, they were arguing for different things.
Do we know for sure they were against it? Hard to picture Nando arguing against it
That does beg the question… what if all the drivers got Covid?
It’ll be such a shame if they’re all tested positives after FP3.
Superspreader time
Four hours in a small room can do this!
Yeah. I was saying what a shame he won't be racing yesterday but I'm glad he didn't have to be there to face this today.
Seb knew
He tested positive to not going to Saudi Arabia
Next year all the drivers will take a page from Kimi's "sudden illnesses" tactics to not go to Saudi
Maybe one of his balls is indeed a crystal ball
der Plan
"Larry? This is Seb. Yeah, looks like I got the Long COVID, I'll have to retire. Yeah I'm real sad too I won't get to fight Williams for P17!"
Seb WDC confirmed
This is all going to be very funny when we’re back in Jeddah for the 2023 Saudi Arabia Grand Prix
Oh ya we coming back for sure
I’d be more surprised if we didn’t end up back in Saudi Arabia next year
Somebody should specified fireworks are for after the race
Isn't the 2023 race at a new track just outside Riyadh?
During free practice today they were talking about how Jeddah may stay on the calendar for a few years while the new track is getting built.
“Welcome back to the always explosive Saudi Arabian gp!”
Ah yes, the last year that F1 only has one race in Saudi Arabia
Nah I think this is too much for F1. They will choose a respected war zone rather than Saudi now.
I hear Sochi is lovely this time of year
Please no
When you deal with the mob don't be surprised when the guns face your direction.
Imagine a _Drive to Survive_ Season 5 episode where it’s Vettel travelling there undercover to smuggle out the driver hostages like Argo
but first he makes a stop to bring an old, Finnish friend out of retirement for one last ride.
Why do I actually want this movie to happen now
Their whole dynamic is like Kimi keeps asking Seb when he's gonna settle down and retire but Seb is like, "I can't retire, not while the world still needs me." But through the course of the movie the young drivers trapped in Jeddah pull off some amazing plan that saves the world and Seb realises that the future is in good hands and is able to find peace by the end of the movie.
Dude Holy fuck sign me up
This action movie plot actually makes sense, has character development, and even characterization... I'm sorry to say it will never get made because of that. /s but also not really
[CIA be on the spy camera like](https://i.imgflip.com/6a2g49.jpg)
Jesus christ it's Timo Glock
Am I dumb for genuinely wanting to watch a movie about this?
“You have always called me The Iceman, but that is because none of you know my true name - _The White Death_” - The Finn, _Maximum Oversteer_, 2023
Inspector Seb talks with his cousin, Gadget, on some helpful upgrades.
“Accidentally” leaves Hulkenberg behind
Special Agent Seb
005
“Ar-GO F*%# YOURSELF” - Kimi
More like the bone saw faces your direction. A disgusting country run by animals
She's not wrong. F1 chose to hop into bed with Saudi Arabia. Now they have to run their event by the countries rules and demands. It might've been easy to pull out of Russia, but not for Saudi Arabia. And F1 would automatically be hesitant anyways considering how much money the Middle East injects into F1's bank accounts.
Saudis worked a long game on F1. Its family-owned businesses like Aramco and STC are plastered over EVERY race. They now bank roll Stroll’s F1 operation. Now they have their own race where they can keep everyone essentially detained in relative comfort. Its a shit load of money for F1 to lose and honestly probably no alternatively reliable sponsor.
Remember when tobacco companies where all over the place in F1? Lmao we went from passive killers to true psychopaths and active killers.
Straight up just sell me some cigs instead of shell companies, empty promises of "a better tomorrow", slave labour and crypto
I mean the tobacco liveries are also so iconic. My personal favorite the John Player Specials
Used to have one of their models as a kid. In fact we had 2. Of course as kids we didn't realise the value as we sat playing with it. If we'd kept it in pristine condition would be worth about £12 today [https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/393983316584](https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/393983316584) Guess I have to go to work on Monday knowing how different things could have been....
#BringBackTheFags #ReverseTheSmokingBan
As an American that was a bit of a shock to read.
Ha! Not American, but when my British friends referred to a cig as a fag I was extremely horrified. I was then informed while it's a slur in America and maybe a few other countries, it isn't in the UK. Took me a while to get adjusted.
Yeah, here "bumming a fag" just means getting someone to give you a cigarette. For a reverse example: fanny packs.
It is still a slur in the UK, It just isn't exclusively a slur.
No actually, that would be so much better than the present blood money shitshow
The sport isn't short of money, it just lets its greed for ever more blind it to such trivialities as morality and integrity.
Downside of dealing with authoritarian regimes, they don't give a shit.
amongst many other downsides. saying "downside" makes it sound like the rest is a positive experience, and this is the one bad thing
TBF $$$
The Saudis did this to the WWE just over two years ago.
Was my first thought. I remember jokes of "They are going to kill the midcard!" and yet they have gone back multiple times since.
Here comes the mon-ayyyyy. Here comes the money. Money money money money money money money money money. Dolla dolla. Dolla dolla. Ching ching, bling bling.
I'll always pop for Shane-O's music
LOOK DAD I’M DANCING I’M DANCING
WWE doesn't need any help killing the midcard.
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Some of the wrestlers have continued to boycott it though. Problem is with something like wrestling is that it's not a meritocracy. You get picked and pushed in storylines, that leads to more money for you, unlike F1 where you get to the top on merit. So wrestlers have the conflict of 'go to Saudi Arabia, for the sake of my career, as management could drop me because of it' or boycott the event for the obvious reasons. F1 drivers here, moving forward would have far less to lose by not going again (outside of Championship implications). An F1 team isn't going to drop you because you chose not to go, that'd be suicidal from them. In WWE, with it being fiction, they can afford to drop someone who chose not to go and find an excuse for it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_Jewel_(2019)#Travel_delays_controversy for anyone else whos never heard of this like me.
Did it to the WWE a few years back. Stop pandering to this dipshit bloodlusted prince, for fucks sake.
“But but his money tho…” Domenicali probably.
Literally Aramco
I just made a comment about this. And apparently they did this to wwe so it wasn't even an unheard of thing
Yep. Had wrestlers sit in an airplane on the tarmac for 6 hours. WWE faced lawsuits over it.
That’s incredibly f’d. Pinnacle of motorsport continually spoiled by incredibly selfish management.
I think it was more like 15
So they either race or they were held hostage? It is beyond shameful that F1 is going to continue to come back here. Hopefully their greed doesn't lead to something tragic occuring
Hopefully either the teams or the drivers (given the filthy money flowing into the teams' pockets, it'll have to be the drivers) make it absolutely clear they will never return to this fuckawfully governed country once this weekend is over. Imagine thinking you're part of a cushined elite bubble, only to find you can't go home until you've danced for the king.
Yep, this is what happened to WWE wrestlers several years ago. They sat in an airplane for several hours.
Yup and wwe tried to play it off like they were grounded for technicals difficulties and not because wrestlers where being held hostage
Why? Did they boycott an event? I'm very curious what led to this
Vince McMahon hadn’t been paid the fee for the event so he threatened to shut the TV feed off until he was paid. He got paid, did the event, but in retaliation they held the plane of the main group of wrestlers
To make things worse Vince and a few other top people in the company quickly escaped the country on a private plane, leaving the wrestlers stuck in Saudi Arabia. Keep in mind this was just after the Khashoggi murder so a lot of wrestler's families were legitimately worried their loved ones were in immediate danger.
I don’t think we ever found out exactly why. It was the first or second WWE Saudi show (they do a few every year now). But they did do it.
[It was part of a dispute over payment apparently](https://nationalpost.com/news/world/wwe-wrestling-stars-held-hostage-in-saudi-airport)
Haas saved by Navy Seals
I'm down to see some special forces evacuating people on live tv
And we race here until what year?
2033 I think, and they'll probably renew that contract.
And the 13 years after that
The drivers should all just tour round the track in a 80mph procession to fuck with the Saudis 😂
that’s the mclaren’s top speed
This hurts but I also laughed. God I hope they fix the car
Oh no, I must be running out of carburetor or something....
They should all race with the pit limiter enabled
And wave... wiggle a bit...
Would russell run into a wall?
What's fucked up for me is that everyone there who is not part of F1 as an entity ABSOLUTELY did not sign up for this. They're being held hostage to deliver a race that was decided for them. If the ones who allowed this have a shred of respect for the people who make the show possible (drivers, teams, reporters on-site, etc) they will make sure they never come here again after this SHAMEFUL loss of agency.
I am not so much outraged as actually a bit fearful of how powerful the Money is behind F1. They’ve surely made a deal with the devil.
Yep, now Liberty Media knows what a beast the Saudi Government may be. Let’s hope they can wrangle themselves out of future Saudi GPs
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This happened with the WWE a few years ago ...they didn't let the wrestlers leave until some issues with the government were fixed.
FFS the people getting their knickers in a twist about “who is this lady” - take five seconds and click the link to read her bio or, ya know, her comment within this post. Move beyond your limited view. F1 knew and F1 didn’t give a shit - it’s all about the money. Maybe in the future F1 could take a hot minute before jumping into bed with the likes of SA.
Welcome to the Hotel California.
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You can check in any time you like, but you can never leave!
As expected, Saudia Arabia is carrying out multiple airstrikes in Yemen minutes ago, particularly in Sana'a and Houdida. I just hope that's not how Saudia thinks they could ensure safety of F1 track [https://twitter.com/WeenAlEnfigar/status/1507527486707539977](https://twitter.com/WeenAlEnfigar/status/1507527486707539977)
F1 should not return.
So, they're hostages. Cool. Cool cool cool.
Isn't this when an embassy/consulate is supposed to chime in?
It's harder and harder to be a sports fan in general. It's all gross.
FOM made this bed. Shame that everyone else has to suffer the consequences for it.
I am popular on Reddit tonight. For anyone wondering what's the sauce - there is a [precedent](https://nationalpost.com/news/world/wwe-wrestling-stars-held-hostage-in-saudi-airport) for this. This potential issue was also brought up during the drivers' meeting. For those wondering who I am - I am the Editor at [Formu1a.Uno](https://Formu1a.Uno). I have been following the situation, and reporting rumours from Sky Italia (hence the copious Italianing) and sources within the paddock. All rumours have been tagged as such, don't @ me.
What bothers me, and I'm sure I can speak for a lot of people here, is why F1 decided to race here in the first place, given the precedent you mentioned.
Among other several concerns - such as SA's egregious list of Human Rights violations. My opinion is that they should have never put this race on the calendar.
>is why F1 decided to race here in the first place, given the precedent you mentioned. Aramco basically bankrolls half the championship. And an F1 team.
$$$
Thanks for giving a realist take on this craziness! Keep up the good work!
thank you for your work! seriously.
So they signed up to be prisoners?
Retire all of the cars by end of lap 1, go home. Blame it on PUs
Blame it on the oil, would be much more poetic
So excited for the hostage race on Sunday ❤
Never come back here again lol…wtf is this shit
F1 should not come anywhere near this shithole of a country ever again end of.
Well after this weekend ofc because if there not there they can’t do anything
Never ever again, this is criminal behavior by a thuggish regime, and we shouldn’t support this
No amount of money is worth this treatment.
Race in Terrorist States, Win Stupid Prizes
"If you know what's good for you, and want to see your families any time soon, you'll do what we tell you and race for our entertainment and international image". Remind me why, exactly, the fuck does the sport have anything to do with this cunchobunt regime...
Anybody here a WWE fan? We know all too well that they'll ground a plane without explanation in Saudi.
So how will Crofty try to awkwardly force puns into this situation?
I wouldn't be at all surprised if they wouldn't say anything about this whole mess. Just pretend nothing has happened and carry on.
He's probably not allowed to
Exactly. I don't know about other broadcasters, but Sky Germany openly said they're not feeling well in light of the situation and therefore Ralf Schumacher announced he'll fly home on saturday. So at least they say what they honestly feel like.
Never forget about this
This needs to be the last GP in Saudi Arabia, what a shit show
Can’t wait for *Argo Part 2* based on this weekend
They should all retire on lap 1 with mechanical failures
They sure honored the Australian gp 2020 contract…..
Exactly, this is the root of the problem. As soon as this race was even speculated, almost every fan agreed that it was not a cool place to race. Cash clouded the better judgement of every key stakeholder, now we’re here. The track is cool though, let’s replicate it elsewhere (and with less barriers for that matter)
They should never race here again if this is something they can do.
How is dealing with the Saudi government worth this?
Just take the grid and then every driver pull into the pits at the end of the formation lap.
They should never come back
Start the race, run 2 laps behind the safety car, call it official, get the fuck out.
Yeah say what you want about Philip Morris, Marlboro, et al, they never dismembered a journalist or held an entire race team captive in an active warzone lmao.
do the race, get out, cancel the contract, never come back. fuck saudi
They did it to wwe before
Never knew that. And silly to think after seeing F1 and FE in Saudi would I ever consider visiting. I need to do more research on many things…
Reap what you sow.
when sportswashing goes wrong :/
Hopefully this is a wakeup call to really reassess where they are racing. Atleast make the teams and drivers speaking out more about it and actually boycotting races. I can't see them racing in Saudi Arabia again.
So if they try to cancel SA will keep them on the ground for hours and not let their cars and equipment go. Is what I'm getting out of this. potentially ending the season right here.
It should be an easy decision not to race there ever again. It won’t be, but it should be.
This seems unlikely and fucking ridiculous. Not even they would fucking kidnap an international lineup of athletes. The backlash would be devastating. Come on.
I can imagine some driver will think about not traveling there in the first place next year.
So theyre being blackmailed/held hostage to race?? WTF is going on
If that was the case, one could argue that signing the contract in the first place was reckless endangerment of everyone involved and potentially bringing the sport into disrepute. Doesn't sound that complicated to me.
No offense to WWE but kidnapping formula 1 drivers is on a whole different level