Ethics CasesSport

Cases · Formula 1 / FIA · 2022–2026

Smoke Over the Circuit: The 2022 Jeddah Missile Attack and Formula 1's Decision to Race

On 25 March 2022, during practice for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed a missile attack on an oil facility about nine miles from the Jeddah circuit. Smoke rose over the track. Formula 1 and the FIA said the event would continue after Saudi authorities gave security assurances. Drivers met for about four hours into the early morning before agreeing to race. Human rights groups said the event was sportswashing. In 2026, F1 cancelled the Saudi and Bahrain races because of war in the region. The case asks who decides when an event is safe, and what weight athletes' concerns should carry.

By Tanner Simkins, editor

Timeline

  1. Saudi Arabia executes 81 men in a single day.
  2. A missile strikes an oil facility near Jeddah on the first practice day; the Houthis claim it.
  3. Second practice is delayed by 15 minutes for a meeting with F1's chief executive.
  4. Drivers meet for about four hours; the decision to race comes at about 02:30.
  5. F1, the FIA and the drivers' association issue statements confirming the event.
  6. The Grand Prix is held as scheduled.
  7. War breaks out between the US and Israel and Iran.
  8. F1 and the FIA cancel the April Bahrain and Saudi races.

The ethical issues

  • Who decides on safety.
  • Athletes' consent to risk.
  • Commercial pressure.
  • Hosting by states accused of rights abuses.
  • Transparency of security assurances.

Stakeholders

StakeholderInterests & obligations
DriversPersonal safety and a voice in decisions.
Teams and staffSafety and getting home.
F1 and the FIARunning the event and protecting revenue.
Saudi authoritiesHosting and reputation.
FansSafe attendance.
Human rights groupsScrutiny of the host state.

The case

Background

Saudi Arabia joined the Formula 1 calendar in December 2021, with a night race on a fast street circuit along the Jeddah Corniche. The 2022 race, held from 25 to 27 March, was the second round of the season [6]. It came amid heavy criticism. On 12 March 2022, Saudi Arabia executed 81 men in a single day. The UN human rights chief said 41 of them were from the Shia minority and had taken part in anti-government protests [6].

“This weekend’s Grand Prix in Saudi Arabia is sportswashing – plain and simple,” said Amnesty International UK’s head of campaigns [5]. He urged “everyone involved in the Grand Prix in Jeddah – from drivers to fans” to speak out, and said “Saudi Arabia must not be allowed a free pass over its continued bombing of civilians in Yemen” [5]. Saudi Arabia had led a coalition at war with Yemen’s Houthi rebels since 2015. The Guardian cited Human Rights Watch’s account of the coalition’s “unlawful attacks” on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Houthi-held areas [6].

What happened

On Friday 25 March, the first day of practice, a missile struck an oil facility about nine miles from the circuit [3]. The Houthis claimed the attack [3]. Black smoke hung over the city and was visible from the track [4][6].

Second practice was delayed by 15 minutes while team bosses and drivers met F1’s chief executive, Stefano Domenicali [3]. At an earlier briefing, Domenicali and FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem told drivers that the event was secure and had the unanimous support of the teams [4]. But the drivers did not agree immediately. After second practice, they began a private discussion. Senior figures came and went, and all 10 team principals were eventually called back in [3][4]. The meeting lasted about four hours, and the decision to race came at about 02:30 local time [3].

Several factors shaped the outcome. BBC Sport was told that one consideration was what calling off the race might mean in practice, for example “whether there could be delays in personnel or freight leaving the country” [3]. Teams and drivers were also told that the Houthis were targeting infrastructure, not civilians or events [3]. Ferrari’s team principal, Mattia Binotto, said: “The drivers were concerned, all of us were concerned… They are still concerned but they listen to the reassurance we give them, and they understand the importance of staying here and racing” [3].

On Saturday 26 March, F1 and the FIA said the race would continue as scheduled. They said Saudi government authorities and security agencies “have given full and detailed assurances that the event is secure” [1]. They also said it had been agreed “to maintain a clear and open dialogue throughout the event and for the future” [1].

The Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) released its own statement, which its chairman Alex Wurz published [4]. It said:

“on seeing the smoke from the incident it was difficult to remain a fully focused race driver and erase natural human concerns… A large variety of opinions were shared and debated and, having listened not only to the F1 powers but also to the Saudi government ministers who explained how security measures were being elevated to the maximum, the outcome was a resolution that we would practise and qualify today and race tomorrow” [3][4]

The race was run on Sunday as planned [1][7].

The rules and governance

The FIA, motorsport’s governing body, and the Formula One Group, the commercial rights holder, decided together with the local promoter whether the event would go ahead [1][2]. Drivers had no formal veto. Their leverage was collective: in theory they could refuse to drive. The GPDA has no rule-making power, and it acted by negotiating [4]. The Guardian noted that the sport had cancelled the Russian Grand Prix within hours of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, yet kept racing in Saudi Arabia despite the war in Yemen [6]. BBC Sport later reported that Bahrain and Saudi Arabia pay two of the largest hosting fees on the calendar [7].

Aftermath

The Saudi race stayed on the calendar, and BBC Sport reported that the country had delivered five editions by 2026 [7]. Then, after the US and Israel went to war with Iran at the end of February 2026, F1 and the FIA announced on 14 March 2026 that the April races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia would not take place and would not be replaced [2][7]. “The FIA will always place the safety and wellbeing of our community and colleagues first,” Ben Sulayem said [2]. Domenicali called it “a difficult decision” but “the right one at this stage” [2]. BBC Sport estimated that the sport would lose well over £100m. It noted that the Jeddah race had been hit in 2022 by the Houthis, who are Iran’s allies [7]. Saudi Arabia’s sports minister said the country “was fully prepared to host the race once again” [7].

The core dilemma

A missile attack near the circuit raised obvious safety questions. Organizers relied on host-government assurances and decided to race, while the drivers negotiated for hours with no formal power to say no. When should athletes’ concerns override a sport’s commercial and contractual commitments?

Competing values

  • Safety: duty of care to drivers, staff and fans [2].
  • Autonomy: whether athletes truly consented, given the practical pressures [3].
  • Commitments: contracts with promoters and broadcasters [7].
  • Human rights: concern over hosting by a state accused of abuses [5][6].
  • Calm decision-making: not panicking or rewarding attackers.

Strongest arguments

Racing was reasonable: the attack targeted infrastructure miles away [3]. Security was raised to the maximum and the race passed safely [3][4]. And cancelling might have encouraged further attacks.

Racing was wrong: the assurances came from a party to the conflict [3][6]. The drivers’ reluctant consent was given under logistical pressure [3]. Russia’s quick cancellation in 2022 suggests the standard was inconsistent [6]. The 2026 decision shows the sport could put safety first [2].

Applying the frameworks

Care

The care lens asks whether those with power listened to the people facing the risk. The drivers said it was “difficult to remain a fully focused race driver” [4].

Rights

A rights view stresses that informed, free consent requires real alternatives and transparent information. Drivers heard the assurances but could not verify them.

Utilitarian

A utilitarian weighs the low-probability but catastrophic risk against the costs of cancelling, for spectators, the business and the sport’s reputation.

Walk it through: the Simple Decision Model

  1. Identify the problem: a missile strike near the event during practice.
  2. Gather the facts: an independent threat assessment and the target pattern.
  3. Identify the stakeholders: drivers, staff, fans, promoters, the FIA and F1.
  4. Consider the options: continue, postpone, cancel or reduce exposure.
  5. Apply values and frameworks: care, rights and outcomes.
  6. Decide and review: agree a written protocol for future threats that includes athletes.

What’s settled and what’s contested

Settled: the attack, the four-hour meeting, the statements and the 2026 cancellation are documented [1][2][3][4].

Contested: whether racing was justified, and whether the drivers’ consent was free.

Why this case matters

Compare The Bahrain Grand Prix: Racing Amid Repression and Saudi Arabia and the 2034 World Cup.

Key terms

Duty of care
The responsibility of coaches, organizations and institutions to protect the health, safety and well-being of those in their charge. It is not a license for total control.
Consent and autonomy
Whether people have agreed freely and with full information, and whether their right to make their own choices is respected.
Crisis ethics
The obligations that apply when an organization is under pressure: honesty, timeliness, accountability and care for those harmed.
Sportswashing
Using sport, through events, teams or sponsorship, to improve the reputation of a state or company and distract from wrongdoing.
Agency
An athlete’s ability to make decisions and act independently about their body, career and voice.

Definitions from the Ethics Cases glossary.

Discussion questions

  1. Should drivers have a formal veto?
  2. Were the security assurances enough?
  3. Did practical pressures make the drivers' consent less free?
  4. Is racing in Saudi Arabia sportswashing?
  5. Why cancel in 2026 but race in 2022?

Sources

  1. Formula 1 and FIA statement on the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix — Formula 1
  2. Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix will not take place in April — FIA
  3. Saudi Arabian Grand Prix: F1 drivers agree to race despite security concerns after missile attack — BBC Sport
  4. F1 drivers group reassured by 'maximum security measures' — The Race
  5. Saudi Arabia: F1 Grand Prix must not be allowed to cover up kingdom's brutal human rights abuses — Amnesty International UK
  6. Formula One bosses continue to bury their heads in increasingly bloodstained sand — The Guardian
  7. F1 cancels Bahrain & Saudi Arabia Grands Prix because of Iran war impact — BBC Sport