Former Steward Alleges FIA Staff Shortages Amid Recent Departures

Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been at the helm of the FIA since December 2021. A high-ranking steward, recently dismissed by Formula 1’s governing body, has stated that the FIA is facing a scarcity of individuals to fill essential roles. These remarks by Tim Mayer, who served as a senior steward for 15 years and claims he was terminated this week, emerge after BBC Sport learned that Janette Tan, the deputy Formula 2 race director, has also exited the FIA. The departures of Mayer and Tan bring the total number of senior personnel leaving the organization to four in just over a fortnight. This follows the dismissals of Niels Wittich, the former F1 race director, and Paolo Basarri, the FIA compliance officer. Tan had been slated to assume the role of F2 race director for the season’s concluding two events, the Qatar and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix, scheduled over the upcoming two weekends. However, her exit necessitates that Rui Marques will now serve as race director for both F1 and F2 at these two competitions. Marques debuted as F1 race director at the Las Vegas Grand Prix last weekend, subsequent to Wittich’s removal. Marques previously held the position of F2 race director. In an exclusive interview with BBC Sport, Mayer expressed his “incredulous” reaction to Tan’s departure, noting that she also holds the title of director of race operations for the Singapore Grand Prix. Mayer commented, “She is the epitome of the type of person we want working for the FIA, the best of the next generation of race directors,” adding, “I don’t know the circumstances, but one would think they would work very hard to keep someone of her character.” The decision to assign Marques to oversee both F1 and F2 in Qatar and Abu Dhabi deviates from established practice. The last instance of a single individual managing both roles was the late FIA F1 director Charlie Whiting, who passed away in 2019. He ceased combining these two responsibilities over a decade ago due to concerns about an excessive workload. Mayer stated, “I know how hard both of those jobs are,” and continued, “I like Rui a lot, but it will put him under incredible pressure.” He further elaborated on the scarcity of highly qualified personnel: “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.” Concluding his point, Mayer asserted, “They’re not doing themselves any favours. They are literally running out of people to do those jobs.” Mayer also discussed his own termination and other recent controversies involving the FIA. Tan was unreachable for comment. The FIA did not directly respond to BBC Sport’s inquiries but released a statement outlining the extensive support provided to race directors in their duties, claiming the role had become “a lot less onerous” as a result. The organization also highlighted its ‘high-performance programme’ designed to identify race directors, stating that “a number of candidates were earmarked for future roles across a range of FIA categories.” Over the past year, the FIA has also seen the departures of sporting director Tim Nielsen, technical director Tim Goss, chief executive officer Natalie Robyn, as well as Deborah Mayer, head of the commission for women, Jacob Bangsgaard, secretary general of mobility, and Luke Skipper, director of communications. Tim Mayer, son of McLaren co-founder Teddy Mayer, further indicated that the recent contentious policy to penalize drivers for using profanity originated directly from the FIA president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem. Mayer quoted, “His view is that the drivers need to be penalised for swearing – and what has happened since reflects that.” While stewards’ panels are intended to operate as independent entities, Mayer remarked, “There are times when he has directly involved himself in making his views known. Not with the stewards directly, but via his staff.” He acknowledged the stewards’ duty to enforce FIA policy: “Part of the job of the stewards is to enforce the FIA’s policy on the rules.” However, he questioned the practicality: “Technically, bad language is outlawed, so it’s not unfair. Whether it’s sensible we should be chasing drivers for rather mild swearing is another matter.” Mayer added, “Most drivers, English is their second, third or fourth language and every go-kart kid in the world, it’s the first word they are taught in English. There are other ways to handle that kind of thing unless your desire is to flex your muscles.” Mayer stated that he received notification of his dismissal via a text message from one of Ben Sulayem’s assistants on Tuesday. Mayer commented, “For a federation that relies on volunteers to fire by text somebody who has made a significant contribution does not speak well of the management of the federation.” He attributed the reason for his termination as a steward to Ben Sulayem having “took offence” at elements within an appeal document submitted by the Circuit of the Americas (Cota), the venue for the US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas. Mayer had represented the Austin organizers in a ‘right of review’ hearing concerning a decision to impose a 500,000 euros fine, with 350,000 euros suspended, following a track invasion at the conclusion of the F1 race on October 20. Mayer noted that Cota officials were “not best pleased” with the initial judgment, contrasting it with a similar incident at this year’s Canadian Grand Prix which resulted in a warning. Mayer, who participated in the appeal in his capacity as sporting organiser for the three US Grands Prix, indicated that his involvement initially led to his removal from the stewards panel at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix earlier this month, preceding his dismissal as a 2025 steward this week. “The official reason that will be given is they felt there was a conflict of interest with the FIA as I had led the right of review in my role as organiser,” Mayer explained. He then countered, “But that is not why I was fired. Being an organiser is a role that I have fulfilled, benefiting the FIA, for over 12 years. This isn’t new.” Mayer expressed his frustration: “In spite of the matter being resolved quietly and amicably, he’s still upset and decided to fire me. After 15 years of volunteering my time as a steward, a decade teaching other stewards and hundreds of hours volunteering in other roles, I got a text from one of his assistants.” Mayer recounted that Ben Sulayem perceived a specific part of the right of review documentation as “a personal attack on him.” Mayer clarified, “I didn’t write that part of the document, but it was my job to present it.” He added, “There was no intention of trying to cause a problem with the FIA and I will continue as the sporting organiser of the three US Grands Prix. This was such a minor point that it is baffling that anyone would take such offence.” Cota successfully advocated for a modification in