British Formula One driver George Russell of Mercedes-AMG Petronas. Picture: EPA, GIUSEPPE CACACE, POOL
Alan Baldwin, in DOHA – Mercedes driver George Russell expressed concern about further departures from Formula One's governing body on Thursday and wondered who was next for the sack after two senior figures left.
The BBC quoted steward Tim Mayer, an American who is also sporting organiser of the three US grands prix, saying he had been fired via text message by an assistant to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
Mayer also said he was “incredulous” at the departure of deputy Formula Two race director Janette Tan, which leaves new Formula One race director Rui Marques handling both series in Qatar this weekend.
The FIA had no comment on Mayer and Tan.
F1 drivers want answers from FIA over “who is getting fired next”:
— This is Formula 1 (@ThisIsFormu1a1) November 29, 2024
— George Russell, GPDA director, expressed concerns over recent FIA dismissals and the lack of transparency, especially regarding the departures of senior figures Janette Tan and Tim Mayer.
“I mean, just when… pic.twitter.com/arnpfjEpUb
A spokesman said, however, that the demands on the race director had become a lot less onerous due to the establishment of a remote operations centre in Geneva supporting race control.
Russell told reporters, after a driver meeting, that there were concerns.
"Just when we've asked for transparency and consistency, we're getting rid of two highly important people in the governing body," he said.
"We still don't have any reasoning for (previous race director) Niels' (Wittich) removal. I don't think anybody was informed about Tim leaving.
"The first I heard about the new race director doing Formula Two this weekend was through the media.
"People have to learn the new rules and that's very challenging for any team. It must be super challenging for everyone within the FIA right now. We'd love to get a little bit of clarity and understanding of what's going on and who's getting fired next."
Wittich left with immediate effect ahead of last weekend's Las Vegas Grand Prix, which decided the drivers' title, and has said he did not resign. Drivers and teams have said they were surprised by the move.
Tim Mayer, a senior steward for 15 years, says the FIA is "running out of people to do those jobs" after his firing this week. His comments follow the departure of Janette Tan, deputy F2 race director. #F1 #FIA #TimMayer pic.twitter.com/NBqYgOpsHr
— PakPassion Sport (@PakPassionSport) November 28, 2024
The FIA spokesman said the race director was now "free to focus entirely on race management without being burdened by peripheral duties".
"It is also not uncommon for the F1 race director and deputy race director to play an active or advisory role in the race management of support races such as Formula Two and Formula Three," he added.
The FIA said it also had in place a high performance programme to train up individuals for race control and stewarding roles, with candidates earmarked for a range of FIA categories.
Mayer told the BBC that Marques would be under "incredible pressure".
"There aren't a lot of 'platinum-level' FIA race directors, which is the FIA's highest level certification," he added.
"They're not doing themselves any favours. They are literally running out of people to do those jobs."
The constructors' title has yet to be decided with McLaren and Ferrari the main contenders and two races remaining.
Drivers agreed that Marques had done a good job in Las Vegas.
"The first race has gone really well. And he's been super open-minded in listening to us drivers and doing things in the right way. And that was very positive," said Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.
"Concerning the workload, I think it's very difficult to judge or to say anything from our side."
Reuters
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