MAX VERSTAPPEN was forced to ask his team if his CAR was on fire after smelling fumes from the huge blaze just 12 miles away from the Jeddah circuit.
The Dutch whiz, 24, was taking part in Friday’s practice session for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix when an explosion stuck close to the track.
The blast came just days after a fuel depot was attacked by rebels.
Flights from and into Jeddah are currently being held at sea or diverted as a cloud of black smoke covered the city following the suspected attack.
Unaware of the chaos just miles from the circuit, a panicked Verstappen radioed his team to ask if there was an issue with his Red Bull after smelling smoke.
The reigning F1 world champion asked: “I can smell burning.. is it my car?”
Red Bull confirmed the smell was NOT his car.
Following the attack on the petroleum depot earlier in the week, F1 chiefs claimed they would be monitoring the situation in the area.
They could now decide to axe the second race of the season.
Earlier in the week, Reuters reported the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen said it had intercepted and destroyed a “hostile air target” aimed towards the Red Sea city of Jeddah, according to Saudi state media.
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group had earlier attacked an Aramco distribution plant in Jeddah, after firing missiles and drones at Saudi energy and water desalination facilities in the southern Jizan region.
Al Arabiya English quoted a spokesman from The Arab Coalition, who said: “We destroyed 106 explosive-laden boats that posed a threat to the freedom of navigation in the southern Red Sea.”
The Arab Coalition also announced that Saudi Arabia’s Air Defence Forces had intercepted and destroyed nine drones.
The 2022 F1 season kicked off in Bahrain last weekend as Charles Leclerc claimed victory for Ferrari.
Defending champion Verstappen was forced to retire with three laps to go when a podium place looked a certainty in a weekend to forget for pre-season favourites Red Bull.
An engine failure scuppered the Dutchman’s chances of securing points in the opening race..
And his team-mate Sergio Perez suffered a similar fate moments later
