P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Portuguese Rui Marques is set to continue as the FIA’s F1 race director for the 2025 season, having debuted in the role late last year.
Marques was appointed as F1 race director ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix in November, replacing Niels Wittich who was unexpectedly let go. He had previously served as deputy alongside Eduardo Freitas before moving to the role solo last season. Marques took over F1 race director duties from his former deputy Janette Tan before the Qatar GP, overseeing F1, F2, and Formula 3 for the final two rounds of 2024. Claire Dubbelman was appointed as Marques’s permanent deputy by the FIA, aiming to bring stability to the race direction role which had seen changes since Charlie Whiting’s passing in 2019. The FIA’s HPP aims to train and support the next generation of officials like Dubbelman, with a focus on diversity and talent development, highlighted during a recent officials summit in Madrid. Ben Sulayem emphasized the importance of investing in officiating talent to ensure a strong pool of candidates for future race director vacancies, looking ahead to 2025 as the “year of our officials.”
