Fired by text, F1 steward claims FIA 'running out of people' after 4 high-profile departures within two weeks
The FIA is seemingly in deep trouble after the F1 governing body lost four high-profile personnel in a matter of two weeks. Tim Mayer and Janette Tan left FIA recently, weeks after the FIA fired Niels Wittich and Paolo Basarri. Following the aforementioned departures, Mayer, who was sacked by a text, claimed that the governing body was "running out of people" to do their "jobs."
The FIA was under immense pressure after questions were raised about their conduct during the 2024 Mexico City Grand Prix. It was the race where FIA stewards penalized Max Verstappen with two 10-second time penalties. As a championship contender, it dealt a huge blow to the Red Bull driver and put Lando Norris in an advantageous position.
The repercussions of the penalties brought Johnny Herbert and Tim Mayer into the limelight. The former is a compatriot of Verstappen's title rival Norris, while the latter is the son of McLaren's co-founder Teddy Mayer. Interestingly, the decision to sack the FIA stewards (Wittich and Basarri) came around a week after the controversies surrounding the Mexico City GP surfaced.
"I know how hard both of those jobs are," Mayer said (via BBC), speaking about the jobs of the FIA. "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 favors. They are literally running out of people to do those jobs," he added.
Tan was in charge of F2 for the two remaining races of this season — Qatar and Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. However, he was shown the exit, days before the Qatar GP.
Former FIA steward revealed he was terminated by a "text"
Former FIA steward Tim Mayer revealed that he was sacked after he received a text from one of Mohammed ben Sulayem, the FIA President's assistants on Tuesday (Nov. 26). Here's what he said about it:
"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 (via BBC Sport).
With Janette Tan and Tim Mayer out of F1 operations, Rui Marques will now be race director for F1 and F2 at the final two events, as well as the F1 Academy.