Formula 1 Race Director Rui Marques will oversee FIA Formula 2 duties this weekend in Qatar after his replacement in the role has been dismissed by the FIA, according to reports.
Marques vacated his role as Race Director for F2 and F3 in order to replace Niels Wittich, who was removed from his post by the sport’s governing body two weeks ago.
The Spaniard, who has been with the FIA since 2012, took charge of a Grand Prix for the first time in Las Vegas, having also been at the helm of race control at the prestigious Macau Grand Prix just one week prior.
However, it appears that Marques’ workload in Lusail is now going to be doubled after motorsport.com has reported that his replacement – and former deputy – Janette Tam, has been removed from the position before overseeing a single race. Whilst it was understood that Tam was not yet in-place in a long-term capacity, her experience gained under Marquez would have seen her as the natural full-time replacement.
Tam’s apparent departure is yet another figure at the FIA who has either been shown the exit door or found it of their own accord in the course of the last year.
Key figures including longstanding FIA servant Tim Mayer, director of communications Luke Skipper, sporting director Steve Nielsen, and its first-ever female CEO, Natalie Robyn, have all departed in recent months.
The long list of those who have exited the organisation will surely pile further pressure on its President, Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
As well as the mass exodus from several high-profile positions, Ben Sulayem has also had to contend with dissatisfaction from the majority of the F1 grid due to the recently-rewritten rules in its Sporting Regulations in regard to foul language used by drivers.
After World Champion Max Verstappen was reprimanded in Singapore for swearing in a press conference, the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association issued a statement rebuking the ruling, which imposes harsher penalties on drivers if bad language is used over the course of a Grand Prix weekend.
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