F1 drivers want answers from FIA over “who is getting fired next”

George Russell has suggested that the FIA needs to give Formula 1 drivers some clarity on “who is getting fired next” after the latest shock departures from the governing body.

As reported by Motorsport.com, there has been fresh turmoil at the FIA ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix following the dismissal of two key figures.

F2 race director Janette Tan was sacked shortly before she was due to take control of the final two rounds of the series – which means current F1 race director Rui Marques has expanded duties for now.

Furthermore, senior steward Tim Mayer has been dropped from the roster following what is understood to have been a disagreement with FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem over matters relating to the track invasion at the United States Grand Prix.

The latest changes, just a few weeks on from the surprise dismissal of F1 race director Niels Wittich, have prompted further concern from drivers at a time when they are desperate for more consistency from the FIA.

Russell, who is a director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, thinks that the feeding of information from the FIA to competitors needs to be improved – revealing he only found out about Tan’s departure through the media.

“I mean, just when we’ve asked for, let’s say, a bit of transparency and consistency, we’re getting rid of two highly important people in the governing body,” said Russell about the latest departures.

“So it’s kind of gone in a full 360. We still don’t have any reasoning for Niels’ removal. I don’t think anybody was informed about Tim leaving, and the first I heard about the new race director doing Formula 2 this weekend as well was through the media.”

Russell said that a big rotation of staff was far from ideal for any organisation, but he felt it essential that the FIA offered some explanations about what was happening – and especially what was planned for the future.

“Naturally, in any organisation, if you’ve got people leaving or a change of personnel, it is never going to be a stable environment, and people have to learn the new rules,” he said. “That’s very challenging for any team and 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, you know, who’s getting fired next.”

George Russell, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

While the exits of Tan and Mayer are concerns of their own, they come against the backdrop of an avalanche of departures from the FIA in recent months.

In October, it parted ways with its director of communications Luke Skipper and secretary general of mobility Jacob Bangsgaard.

Late last year, both sporting director Steve Nielsen and single-seater technical director Tim Goss resigned, while Deborah Mayer, head of the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission, also left.

The FIA’s first CEO Natalie Robyn also quit the organisation in May after less than two years in the role.

At a time when F1 is going from strength to strength under Liberty Media, Russell hopes what was going on within the FIA would not have wider consequences.

“Definitely when it comes to the FIA, so much is changing: too much is changing and too quickly,” added the Mercedes driver.

“I think everybody has faith in Liberty and faith in Stefano [Domenicali]. You know, he was a racer and he’s got racing in his blood. So he’s doing everything he can to get the sport in the best place possible.

“I think the only concern for all of us is that the sport is in such a great place. Everyone’s trying their best for the teams, and Liberty and Stefano have done such a great job.

“We just need to make sure that the sport stays in this position or continues to grow. And the only thing with all of this change, I hope it’s not going to have a negative impact.”