FIA announces race director support role for Formula One
F1 News
- Estéban den Toom
The FIA has finalised its plans for race control in the 2025 Formula One season. A few days ago, during a meeting in Madrid, Spain, Mohammed Ben Sulayem revealed that there would be multiple race directors in 2025. For the time being, there will only be one, but as the FIA has confirmed to GPBlog, a prominent support role, the race director's right-hand, has already been filled.
Prior to the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix, the FIA decided to stop its collaboration with Niels Wittich, the race director at the time. There was much controversy over the penalties that were being issues under his leadership. Three races before the end of the season, a new name was thrusted into the fore: Rui Marques. The former F2 race director will hold on to the race director position in F1 come 2025 as well, but he will be assisted by Dutch Claire Dubbelman.
Claire Dubbelman and her work for Formula 1 and the FIA
Dubbelman already has extensive experience in Formula 1. She was a regular at Race Control in 2023 and 2024. She joined the FIA's Formula 1 team in 2023 as Race Control Operator, where she worked closely with the race director to oversee the racing on track. Dubbelman is a Dutch motorsport official who has worked for the FIA since 2017. Before the governing body, her responsibilities included the Formula 2 and Formula 3 championships.
Ben Sulayem announced in Madrid that there would be more than one race director to oversee the upcoming season of Formula One, whilst adding that clarity would soon be provided about how many and who the active race directors will be in 2025.
Ultimately, there is only one for the time being: Marques. Several officials will work around Marques, including Dubbelman. The FIA is thus qualifying Ben Sulayem's earlier statements. "There will definitely be new people and there will be more than one. That is certain," Ben Sulayem said at the press conference.
This article was written in collaboration with Norberto Mujica.
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