George Russell says the drivers want clarity and insight on “who’s getting fired next” as the FIA continues to see big-name departures.

Ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix Formula 1’s governing body the FIA parted ways with F1 race director Niels Wittich, and on the eve of the Qatar GP, two more senior figures have departed with veteran steward Tim Mayer and planned new Formula 2 race director Janette Tan shown the door.

George Russell: FIA in ‘full 360’ mode

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

The F1 drivers were introduced to new race director Rui Marques last weekend in Las Vegas, with the likes of Russell and Carlos Sainz praising his debut after stepping up from Formula 2/Formula 3 duties. But, the exits continue and Tan’s specifically means Marques is due to serve as F2 and F1 race director in Qatar.

The whole situation does not sit well with Grand Prix Drivers’ Association chairman George Russell.

The relationship between the F1 drivers and the FIA has been in the spotlight in recent times, with all 20 drivers recently uniting in a strongly-worded statement tackling points such as the FIA’s swearing clampdown – which Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc felt the force of – while president Mohammed Ben Sulayem was urged “to consider his own tone and language”.

“I mean, just when we’ve asked for, let’s say, a bit of transparency and consistency, you know, we’re getting rid of two highly important people in the governing body,” Russell told the media including PlanetF1.com.

“So it’s kind of gone in full 360.

“We still don’t have any reasoning for Niels’s removal. I don’t think anybody was informed about Tim leaving. And the same with, you know, the first I heard about the new race director doing Formula 2 this weekend as well was through the media.

“So, you know, naturally in any organisation, if you’ve got people leaving or change of personnel, it’s never going to be a stable environment and people have to learn the new rules and that’s very challenging for any team, and it must be super challenging for everyone within the FIA right now.

“So, you know, we’d love to get a little bit of clarity and understanding of what’s going on and who’s getting fired next.”

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Change is also occurring on F1’s side, with confirmation having arrived that Cadillac has been accepted as a provisional F1 2026 entrant. So, Russell was asked if everything going on involving the sport is a case of too much too quickly.

“Definitely when it comes to the FIA, too much is changing and too quickly,” he replied. “I think everybody has faith in Liberty and faith in Stefano [Domenicali, F1 president].

“He was a racer and he’s got racing in his blood, so he’s doing everything he can to get the sport in the best place possible.

“I think the only concern for all of us is, the sport is in such a great place, everyone’s trying their best for teams and Liberty and Stefano are doing such a great job, we just need to make sure that the sport stays in this position or continues to grow. And the only thing with all of this change, is I hope it’s not going to have a negative impact.”

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