Race director

In motorsport, the race director is responsible for overseeing all operations relating to competitive racing. The position involves promoting safety for events and manages the response to incidents that occur during races.

Roles

They are responsible for the regular and safety processes of the race weekend, including:[1]

  • Deploying the safety car
  • Managing the marshals around the circuit
  • Deciding which flags are shown to drivers at different points of the circuit
  • Monitoring track limits

Formula One

In Formula One, race director is employed by the FIA. A permanent Formula One race director was established in 1988.[2] Before this period, the race director was not fixed.

For the 2025 season, Rui Marques serves as the race director.[3]

Formula One race directors
Name
(Birth–Death) 		Term Notes Ref.
Roland Bruynseraede
(born 1939) 		1988–1995 First individual to hold the position of race director in a full time capacity. [4]
Roger Lane-Nott
(born 1945) 		1996 [5]
Charlie Whiting
(1952–2019) 		1997–2019 Expected to serve as race director in 2019, he died three days prior to the start of the season.
Whiting was the longest-serving race director in Formula One history 		[6]
Michael Masi
(born 1978) 		2019–2021 [7]
Eduardo Freitas
(born 1961) 		2022 Wittich and Freitas held the position on a rotating basis in 2022.

Wittich departed from his position prior to the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix.

[8][9]
Niels Wittich
(born 1972) 		2022–2024 [10]
Rui Marques
(born 1972) 		2024–present Assumed the role in 2024 starting at the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix. [11]

The position of deputy race director was held by Herbie Blash beginning in 1996.[12] He served in the role until his departure at the end of the 2016 season, and in 2022 he was appointed as the permanent senior advisor to the Race Director.[8] Laurent Mekies—who later became the team principal of Red Bull Racing—succeeded Blash, and served as Deputy Race Director in 2017 until his departure in March 2018.[13] To replace Mekies, Michael Masi and Scot Elkins shared the role of deputy for the 2018 season. Masi was expected to continue as deputy in 2019, but took as Race Director following Whiting's unexpected death.[14] Colin Haywood served as Deputy Race Director for 2019 and 2020, and for selected races in 2022.[15] Claire Dubbelman served as Deputy Race Director in 2024 and continued the in the role for 2025 on a permanent basis, but left shortly after the season ended.[16][17]

Single seater racing

IndyCar Series

In American open-wheel racing, currently known as the IndyCar Series, the race director oversees race control, determines track conditions (including flags), and assists with penalties or other infractions.[18] The current race director for the series is Kyle Novak, who has held the position since 2018.[19] Prior to Novak, the race director was Brian Barnhart, who held the position several times between 1997 and 2015.[20] Beaux Barfield served as race director from 2012 through 2014.[21]

Formula E

Marek Hanaczewski currently serves as the race director for Formula E. Hanaczewski replaced Scott Elkins, had previously served as Formula E's race director from the 2017–18 season[22] until his departure in 2025.[23][24] Before Elkins, the position was previously held by Oliver Grodowski.[25]

Endurance racing

World Endurance Championship

Eduardo Freitas is the current race director for the FIA World Endurance Championship, and has held the position since the series' creation in 2012.[26][27]

IMSA SportsCar Championship

Beaux Barfield has held the role of race director for the IMSA SportsCar Championship since the series' creation in 2014.[28][29]

References

  1. ^ "F1 race director: Job explained and Rui Marques profile". BBC Sport. 13 November 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  2. ^ "Safety Improvements in F1 Since 1963". Atlas F1. Autosport. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
  3. ^ Noble, Jon (10 February 2025). "FIA finalises new F1 race director plan for 2025". The Race. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
  4. ^ "Roland Bruynseraede". www.grandprix.com. Retrieved 24 March 2025.
  5. ^ "The admiral departs". www.grandprix.com. 18 November 1996. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
  6. ^ "Charlie Whiting, F1's race director, dies aged 66". Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 5 November 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  7. ^ "Michael Masi replaced as F1 race director after FIA review of 2021 Abu Dhabi GP finale". Sky Sports. 18 February 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2025.
  8. ^ a b Cobb, Haydn (17 February 2022). "Who are Freitas and Wittich, and why are they replacing Masi?". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 24 March 2025.
  9. ^ Smith, Luke (21 October 2022). "FIA ends F1 race director rotation for rest of 2022 season". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 24 March 2025.
  10. ^ Benson, Andrew (12 November 2024). "Wittich 'steps down' as F1 race director". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 March 2025.
  11. ^ "Niels Wittich: FIA confirms immediate departure of F1 race director with Rui Marques named replacement". Sky Sports. 12 November 2024. Archived from the original on 5 January 2025. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
  12. ^ "Herbie Blash to step down as Deputy F1 Race Director". Federation Internationale de l'Automobile. 5 July 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  13. ^ "Safety Director and Deputy F1 Race Director Laurent Mekies to leave FIA". Federation Internationale de l'Automobile. 14 March 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  14. ^ Cooper, Adam (12 July 2022). "Who is Michael Masi and what's the role of a Formula 1 race director?". Autosport. Archived from the original on 1 June 2025. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  15. ^ Cooper, Adam (22 March 2022). "FIA veteran Haywood returns in F1 deputy race director role". Autosport. Archived from the original on 11 September 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  16. ^ Jaeggi, Erwin (26 April 2025). "Claire Dubbelman: The first woman to hold an FIA Race Director Super Licence". Motorsport.com. Archived from the original on 24 July 2025. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  17. ^ Harden, Oliver (2 January 2026). "Key FIA figure exits ahead of F1 2026 season as new role emerges". PlanetF1. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  18. ^ "Race Control". IndyCar.com. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  19. ^ "INDYCAR names Novak as Verizon IndyCar Series race director". IndyCar.com. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  20. ^ Brown, Nathan (22 September 2022). "Arrow McLaren SP hires longtime IndyCar official Brian Barnhart after Taylor Kiel's exit". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  21. ^ "Barfield leaves IndyCar for same role at IMSA". ESPN. 5 September 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  22. ^ Kew, Matt (25 November 2021). "Formula E race director Elkins appointed in same role for DTM". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  23. ^ Smith, Sam (6 February 2025). "Major Formula E shake-up as long-serving race director steps down". The Race. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
  24. ^ Boxall-Legge, Jake (6 February 2025). "Elkins to retire as Formula E race director after Miami round". Motorsport.com.
  25. ^ "What Is A Race Director? - Formula E". motorsport.com. 20 June 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  26. ^ "WEC - Interview with FIA Race Director Eduardo Freitas". Federation Internationale de l'Automobile. 17 November 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  27. ^ Tunnicliffe, David (3 February 2020). "Eduardo Freitas: The man in control". WEC-Magazin. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  28. ^ "IMSA announces Beaux Barfield as new race director, along with other changes". Autoweek. 5 September 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  29. ^ "Barfield leaves IndyCar for same role at IMSA". ESPN. 5 September 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
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