FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has confirmed the return of multiple F1 Race Director system for 2025 F1 season.
The decision was revealed during an FIA event in Madrid marking a return to a format last seen in 2022 which signals a fresh approach to managing race control.
The move to implement multiple F1 Race Directors follows a season of unrest among drivers and teams regarding inconsistent race rulings which forced the governing body to make unexpected changes including the departure of Niels Wittich.
The FIA now seeks to bring fresh perspectives and expertise to race management by introducing “new blood” into the stewarding pool, potentially leading to more balanced and well-considered decisions.
While the specifics of how the multiple F1 Race Director system will operate in 2025 are still being finalized, the core idea is to distribute the responsibilities and workload among several individuals.
This will provide a more balanced perspective and reduce the risk of individual biases or errors influencing critical decisions.
Speaking at an FIA event at former Spanish Grand Prix venue Jarama on Friday, FIA President Ben Sulayem confirmed the 2025 F1 change.
“Who and how many[F1 race directors] is a question we will know soon, in the next few days,” Sulayem told Marca. “But for sure there will be new blood and there will be more than one. That’s for sure.
“There have been people learning, there have been people working behind all the time. You can’t just throw somebody into this big challenge.
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“And then teams can complain, drivers can complain, but then they don’t want to pay for it. I’m being very, very honest and straight with you, this takes a lot of investment.
“It has taken us more than two and a half years to get to what we are achieving now. Do we have the results? We will know the results when the season starts.
“It is very important. What if the race director decides not to go or if he gets sick? It’s the same as the FIA.
“If something happens to me tomorrow, the FIA will continue to function without me, so this has to be a system. It’s not about individuals.
“There are a lot of mistakes and then you blame the FIA. It’s easy to blame the FIA. Why can’t you be productive in your criticism and say: ‘How can we find a solution?’
“But where is the solution? The solution is in training, the solution is to bring people in.”
Ben Sulayem also confirmed the selection process for new F1 race directors will not be based on meeting diversity quotas merely for appearances.
He added: “Is it about diversity? No, we talk about diversity and we say they say: ‘You bring this from this country or this woman or something.’
“That’s an insult. We don’t have women because we have to take 30 per cent, we take women on the basis of merit and credibility because they are good.
“We hire non-European people from other countries because they are good, they are trained, they have the passion to compete, not because I have to have this colour, this religion.
“Then you won’t have a good FIA, a strong FIA. You will have a weak one because you will not deliver what you promise. For us, it’s a big challenge.”
The concept of rotating F1 Race Directors is not new to Formula 1. In 2022, following the controversial Abu Dhabi GP in 2021 and the subsequent departure of race director Michael Masi, the FIA experimented with a dual race director system, appointing Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas to share responsibilities.
However, this arrangement was short-lived as Freitas was axed after a problematic handling of the 2022 Japanese GP, leaving Wittich in sole charge until his departure in November 2024.
Wittich resigned just before the Las Vegas Grand Prix adding to the sense of instability in race management. The circumstances surrounding his departure remain unclear with reports suggesting conflicting accounts of whether he voluntarily left the role or was fired.
His sudden exit led to the appointment of Rui Marques, who also served as the Formula 2 and Formula 3 race director, to fill the position for the remaining races of the season.
Now the FIA intends to return to a multiple F1 Race Director system suggesting a renewed belief in the benefits of shared responsibility and diverse viewpoints in ensuring fair and consistent race officiating.
