motorsport Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of Car, automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and Aircraft, powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific term ...

, the race director is responsible for overseeing all operations relating to competitive racing. The position involves promoting safety for events and manages the response to incidents that occur during races.

Roles

They are responsible for the regular and safety processes of the race weekend, including: * Deploying the

safety car In motorsport, a safety car, or a pace car, is a car that limits the speed of competing cars or motorcycles on a racetrack in the case of a ''caution period,'' such as an obstruction on the track or bad weather. The safety car aims to enable the ...

* Managing the marshals around the circuit * Deciding which flags are shown to drivers at different points of the circuit * Monitoring track limits * Pressing the button which makes the lights on the grid go out to signal the start of the Grand Prix

Formula One

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

, race director is employed by the FIA. A permanent Formula One race director was established in 1980. Before this period, the race director was not fixed, and they were appointed for every Formula One race. The role was previously called the "Formula One starter". For the season,

Rui Marques Rui Manuel Marques (born 3 September 1977) is an Angolan former football defender who was a first choice centre-back for the Angola national team. Born in Angola, Marques moved to Portugal as a child. Club career Early career After comi ...

serves as the race director and

Claire Dubbelman Claire Dubbelman (born 1985 or 1986) is a Dutch motorsport official who serves as the permanent deputy race director for Formula One. Early life Dubbelman's father, Huub, worked as a journalist and in public relations for Mercedes-Benz in the ...

serves as the deputy race director. ,

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, rowspan="2" , Wittich and Freitas held the position on a rotating basis in 2022. Wittich departed from his position prior to the

2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix The 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024) was a Formula One motor race held on November 23, 2024, at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit in Paradise, Nevada, United States. It was the twe ...

. , , - !scope="row", Niels Wittich
(born 1972) , 2022–

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, , - !scope="row",

(born 1972) , 2024–present , Assumed the role in 2024 starting at the

. ,

Single seater racing

IndyCar Series

In American open-wheel racing, currently known as the

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, officially known as the NTT IndyCar Series for sponsorship reasons, is the highest class of American open-wheel car racing in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of various sanctioning bodies sinc ...

, the race director oversees race control, determines track conditions (including flags), and assists with penalties or other infractions. The current race director for the series is Kyle Novak, who has held the position since 2018. Prior to Novak, the race director was

Brian Barnhart Brian Barnhart (born June 30, 1961) is an American motorsports executive. He is the general manager of Arrow McLaren, and is known for his past roles within the IndyCar Series paddock, holding various positions for race teams and as a race director ...

, who held the position several times between 1997 and 2015. Beaux Barfield served as race director from 2012 through 2014.

Formula E

Marek Hanaczewski currently serves as the race director for

Formula E Formula E, officially the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, is an open-wheel single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars. The racing series is the highest class of competition for electrically powered single-seater racing cars ...

. Hanaczewski replaced Scott Elkins, had previously served as Formula E's race director from the 2017–18 season until his departure in 2025. Before Elkins, the position was previously held by Oliver Grodowski.

Endurance racing

World Endurance Championship

Eduardo Freitas is the current race director for the

FIA World Endurance Championship The FIA World Endurance Championship, abbreviated as WEC, is a world championship for automobile endurance racing organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The se ...

, and has held the position since the series' creation in 2012.

IMSA SportsCar Championship

Beaux Barfield has held the role of race director for the

IMSA SportsCar Championship The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (I ...

since the series' creation in 2014.

References

{{reflist Formula One Motorsport terminology