LUSAIL, Qatar — Two more high-profile figures have been dismissed from Formula One’s governing body, the FIA, before this weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix.
Tim Mayer, one of the leading stewards who helps officiate F1 grands prix and adjudicates on-track incidents and penalties, and Janette Tan, who was set to serve as the Formula Two race director in Qatar this weekend, have departed from their roles.
The FIA has not yet responded to a request for comment from The Athletic.
Mayer had served as an F1 steward for over 15 years and was one of the most prominent members of the rotating set of volunteers that help officiate grands prix.
The son of McLaren founder Teddy Mayer, Tim Mayer most recently was one of the four stewards at the Mexico City Grand Prix. He has also been a steward in other FIA series including World Rallycross and the World Endurance Championship.
In an interview with BBC Sport, Mayer claimed that he was informed via an assistant of the FIA president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, via text message on Tuesday that he had lost his job.
Mayer said in the BBC Sport interview that “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.”
He said that his dismissal related to his involvement in a hearing regarding a fine given to the promoter of the United States Grand Prix over a track invasion, and that there were “hurt feelings” on behalf of Ben Sulayem. Mayer represented US Race Management in the hearing as part of his role as the sporting organizer for the event.
The departures of Mayer and Tan comes off the back of the exit of Niels Wittich, who was dismissed as the F1 race director with three races to go in the season in a sudden move that surprised F1 drivers.
In a statement regarding Wittich’s exit, the FIA said he had stepped down from his role “in order to pursue new opportunities,” but Wittich claimed to multiple media outlets that he had been sacked.
In the past 12 months, the FIA has also lost sporting director Steve Nielsen, single-seater technical chief Tim Goss, the head of its commission for women, Deborah Mayer, and its CEO, Natalie Robyn.
Ben Sulayem’s tenure as FIA president, which started in December 2021, has faced no shortage of controversy. This has included the emergence of historic comments he made about women, as well as an investigation by the FIA’s Ethics Committee earlier this year for two allegations of sporting interference of which he was cleared.
Wittich was replaced for the Las Vegas Grand Prix by Rui Marques, who had served as the F2 and Formula Three race director this season. Marques’ first weekend was deemed a success by the drivers, who appreciated his more open and communicative approach compared to Wittich.
Following the departure of Tan, Marques will also serve as the F2 race director in Qatar, adding a sizable amount to his workload for only his second weekend overseeing F1’s sessions.
(Qian Jun/MB Media/Getty Images)
