Marko: 'Verstappen thought his car was on fire'

Helmut Marko is behind the decision to allow the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix to go ahead, despite the earlier missile attack near the Jeddah International Circuit and the growing threat of more attacks.

The Red Bull Racing chief tells how he found out that an explosion had taken place near the circuit. " Max let it be known over the radio that he thought his car was on fire," Marko tells Motorsport.com. Verstappen smelled an intense fire odour, but the team determined that nothing was wrong with his car.

Then they received the news that it was a drone attack. Marko speaks of deliberate timing because the rebels know that during a Grand Prix weekend they would get more attention with attacks.

However, the Red Bull advisor does not consider it enough reason to cancel the race weekend, although he calls the situation in Jeddah "not normal," and adds that one "should not let terror control daily life."