17/03/2023
NEWS STORY
Like Lewis Hamilton, rookie Oscar Piastri believes that drivers have a responsibility to speak out over certain issues.
Twelve months ago, the Jeddah event was put in doubt following a terrorist attack on a local oil storage facility, while the country's record on human rights is well documented.
Asked if there were any remaining concerns over driver safety following last year's attack, Valtteri Bottas took the diplomatic option.
"I actually prefer not to answer that question," said the Finn. "The track is cool. I enjoy the track. But otherwise, I don't want to really speak about those things. We're here and here to race."
"Same," agreed Yuki Tsunoda and Alex Albon, while Lando Norris added: "I'm happy. We're racing here. I think Formula 1 and what we're doing as a sport is a good thing. So yeah, not worried about anything."
"At the moment, I'm still very focused on just purely trying to get the most out of myself on track," said Oscar Piastri.
"I think coming here this weekend in particular I think there's been a lot of reassurance that we'll be safe," he added. "I've got a lot of trust in the FIA and Formula 1 to make sure wherever we go is safe. At the moment I'm purely focused on trying to go as fast as I can."
Like, Lewis Hamilton however, Piastri believes that the public position afforded him due to his status as an F1 driver, means he has a duty to speak out on certain issues.
"There's important issues to be spoken about in the world of F1," he said.
"It's something that I think we have the responsibility in such an important position in the world now," he added. "F1 is such a big sport and a big business.
"I think it's important to speak about these issues," he continued, "but in the right way, in a constructive way.
"It's definitely important for everybody to be able to speak about these things. But being united on certain things and just making sure that they're spoken about in the right way and that it's constructive and not destructive is very important."
Check out our Friday gallery from Jeddah here.