JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia’s minister of sport, Prince Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al-Faisal, said his country would not have hesitated in cancelling this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix if it felt there was a genuine security threat to the event.
Formula One’s 20 drivers came close to boycotting the race in the early hours of Saturday morning after a missile attack on an oil depot 10 kilometers east of the circuit raised concerns about security at the venue.
A military spokesperson for Yemen’s Houthis, which have been battling a coalition led by Saudi Arabia for seven years, claimed responsibility for the attack on the facility, which is run by state-owned energy company Aramco.
On Friday evening the Saudi Arabian government and security services offered assurances to F1, its teams and drivers that the race was not at risk of a similar attack.
“If there is a threat, then rest…
