The FIA’s embarrassing crisis deepens ahead of the F1 Qatar GP

On December 1, 2024By Littum

The embarrassing saga engulfing the Formula One regulator has deepened with significant new exits by the FIA, adding to an exodus of senior FIA staff linked to president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

FIA F1 race director Rui Marques, who only replaced Niels Wittich in the role for last weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix, will have to manage Formula 2 sessions in Qatar alongside his F1 responsibilities.

The high-pressure double-up is a result of Marques’ successor, Janette Tan, being benched before she even performed the role of F2 race leader.

The Race has learned that this relates to Tan’s role as Director (Race Operations) of the Singapore Grand Prix.

It comes as Tim Mayer, a long-time FIA contributor as an unpaid steward and US delegate, was told by text that his services were no longer required.

Although the FIA has not commented on either case specifically, Mayer told the BBC that the FIA’s official justification would be that he exhibited a conflict of interest. It is unclear whether Tan’s removal as F2 race director is based on a similar logic.

Mayer, the son of McLaren co-founder Teddy, is widely regarded as one of the FIA’s best stewards. His contributions to the FIA in over a decade working with the governing body include coordinating American motorsport and being a steward in F1 and the World Endurance Championship, plus teaching and working on several commissions.

He told the BBC on Thursday ahead of the Qatar GP that the FIA is “literally running out of people to do these jobs”, citing Marques being put under “incredible pressure” to be race director for both categories in the same weekend.

It also comes amid an intense F1 triple-header and after Marques led race control at the Macau Grand Prix the week before Las Vegas.

F1 drivers have not been impressed by the recent volatility within the FIA and the latest developments have emerged ahead of a crucial feedback point.

A drivers’ meeting is due to take place on Thursday evening in Qatar with the FIA’s race control and stewards, for an annual review that will also include a follow-up conversation to the discussion in Mexico about adapting F1’s controversial race guidelines.

The news of further turnover in the FIA ranks is an escalation in a troubling public narrative for the organization and its president.

It is compounded by Mayer’s decision to go on record with a candid interview with the BBC.

He says Tan’s exit means the FIA has lost “the best of the next generation of race directors”, that Ben Sulayem has “directly implicated himself” in matters such as a controversial oath-taking and that Meyer himself was sacked because Ben Sulayem felt that Mayer had made “a personal attack on him” recently.

It relates to Mayer’s role in a recent dispute between the FIA and the US Grand Prix organisers, where Mayer worked in an independent capacity as a representative of US Race Management, the ‘sporting organiser’ rather than the event organiser.

Mayer was part of the initial stewards’ hearing when the US GP was criticized and penalized for fans invading the track at the end of the race, and then involved in a right of review when the circuit and the organizer took issue with the claim that, that they “failed to take reasonable measures, resulting in an unsafe condition”.

The new decision found no breach of the International Sports Code, but instead of the sporting rules. It still imposed a fine of €500,000 – €350,000 of which was suspended until December 31, 2026 – and according to Mayer, Ben Sulayem “took offence” at what was presented in the appeal. Mayer called it “confusing” and said “there was no reason for his feelings to be hurt when everyone else handled this in a professional manner”.

The FIA’s response

After the news broke, the FIA offered a rationale for Marques’ expanded role – saying that “the demands on the race director have become much less onerous due to the support structure that has been implemented” in the F1 weekends.

“The race leader is now free to focus entirely on race management without being encumbered by peripheral duties,” the FIA said.

“He has at least four people supporting him in Race Control, a dedicated technical and IT department to support specifically in matters such as track boundary registration and stewarding. We also have four to six people on duty in the Remote Operations Center in Geneva providing live support during every Formula 1 session, qualifying and race.

“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 2 and Formula 3.”

The FIA also rejected the claim of a lack of available race management staff, pointing to its High Performance Program where “there are currently a number of candidates involved” who have already taken part in the performance of race control duties at world championship rounds including F1 – and who “are earmarked for future roles across a range of FIA categories”.

It is not the first time that Ben Sulayem has been called out publicly. The Grand Prix Drivers Association recently criticized him and his interference in F1 matters has caused controversy during the majority of his presidency in the past three years.

Some of the drivers were also unimpressed in Qatar.

“I mean, just when we’ve been asking for a little bit of transparency and consistency, we’re getting rid of two very important people on the governing body. It’s kind of done a complete 360,” said GPDA director George Russell.

“We still have no reason for Niels’ dismissal, I don’t think anyone has been informed of Tim’s departure and the same – the first I heard about the new race director, who was also due to drive Formula 2 this weekend, was through the media.

“So… obviously in any organization if you have people leaving or a staff turnover, it’s never going to be a stable environment and people have to learn the new rules.

“And it’s very challenging for any team and it’s got to be super challenging for everybody within the FIA right now. So, you know, we’d love to get a little bit of clarity and understanding of what’s going on and you know who will be fired next time.”

The sheer number of dignitaries who had left, either on Ben Sulayem’s direct instruction or as a consequence of his leadership, was already alarming. The rise in dissent – publicly and privately, as other parts of the FIA have been critical of Ben Sulayem’s regime – is yet another escalation of the crisis.

It reflects extremely poorly on an organization that, although staffed with a lot of committed and competent people, seems to be increasingly hampered by the actions of its leader.