Axed Formula 1 race steward Tim Mayer has hit out at FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem following his dismissal and that of Deputy Formula 2 Race Director Janette Tan.
Mayer, speaking to BBC Sport shortly after his axing as an F1 race steward is concerned that the sport is running out of elite-level race directors.
This comes after Tan was dismissed by the FIA just as she was to succeed Rui Marques as Formula 2 Race Director for the Qatar and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix.
Instead, Marques, who made his debut as F1 Race Director last time out in Las Vegas, will be pulling double duty for the foreseeable future.
[Tan] is the epitome of the type of person we want working for the FIA, the best of the next generation of race directors,” Mayer said.
“I don’t know the circumstances, but one would think they would work very hard to keep someone of her character.
“I know how hard both of those jobs [F1 and F2 Race Director] are.
“I like Rui a lot, but it will put him under incredible pressure.
“There aren’t a lot of ‘platinum-level’ FIA race directors, which is the FIA’s highest level certification.
“I’m one of them. It’s a lot of work and, if you are doing the job right, you wake up every day with an ulcer thinking of all the various things you need to be thinking about.
“They’re not doing themselves any favours. They are literally running out of people to do those jobs.”
Mayer fired by FIA after 15 years of service via text
Mayer was dismissed as an F1 race steward after 15 years of service via a Tuesday text from one of Ben Sulayem’s assistants.
As Sporting Organiser for the three Grands Prix held in the United States, Mayer represented the organisers of the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas in a ‘right of review’ hearing regarding a €500,000 fine following a track invasion and believes Ben Sulayem didn’t appreciate his involvement.
“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 of the federation,” Mayer said.
“The official reason that will be given [for the dismissal] is they felt there was a conflict of interest with the FIA as I had led the right of review in my role as organiser.
“But that is not why I was fired. Being an organiser is a role that I have fulfilled, benefiting the FIA, for over 12 years. This isn’t new.”
The event organisers at the Circuit of the Americas succeeded in having specific wording removed from the original verdict on the track invasion whereby it was claimed they “failed to take reasonable measures.”
Mayer added that “I didn’t write that part of the document, but it was my job to present it.
“In the process, there were hurt feelings on behalf of the president, which I think is odd because there was no cause for his feelings to be hurt when everyone else dealt with this in a professional manner.”
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