Qatar GP: George Russell says drivers concerned by FIA sackings
George Russell has raised concerns about Formula One drivers being left in the dark over significant changes at the FIA after two more senior figures were fired ahead of this weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix.
On Thursday, the BBC reported that FIA steward Tim Mayer and deputy Formula 2 race director Janette Tan had left the governing body.
Tan’s departure means Rui Marques, who was drafted into the role of F1 race director after Neils Wittich was sacked ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, will be spread across race director roles in F1 and F2 in Qatar this weekend.
“I know how hard both of those jobs are,” Mayer told the BBC. “I like Rui a lot, but it will put him under incredible pressure.
“There aren’t a lot of ‘platinum-level’ FIA race directors, which is the FIA’s highest level certification. I’m one of them.
“It’s a lot of work and, if you are doing the job right, you wake up every day with an ulcer thinking of all the various things you need to be thinking about.
“They’re not doing themselves any favours. They are literally running out of people to do those jobs.”
When Russell, who is the head of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, was asked about the changes, he raised concerns that drivers had learned about the changes through the media.
“Just when we’ve asked for transparency and consistency, we’re getting rid of two highly important people in the governing body. It’s gone in full 360,” he said.
“We still don’t have any reasoning for Niels’ [Wittich] removal. I don’t think anybody was informed about Tim [Mayer] leaving.
“The first I heard about the new race director doing Formula 2 this weekend was through the media. Naturally in any organisation, if you’ve got people leaving or change of personnel, it’s never going to be a stable environment.
“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.”
When Russell was asked about the scale of recent changes in those officiating F1, he added: “Definitely when it comes to the FIA, too much is changing and too quickly … The only thing with all of this change, I hope it’s not going to have a negative impact.”
F1’s drivers wrote a letter to the FIA two weeks ago asking to be treated like adults, while also giving the governing body’s president Mohammed Ben Sulayem a rebuke over how he spoke about the sport and its competitors.
The FIA did not respond immediately to ESPN’s request for comment.
Source: espn.com