F1 race director in the ‘hot seat’ as Marques recalls ‘fantastic’ 2025 season

Ahead of Rui Marques’ second season charge as the FIA race-appointed race director in Formula 1, he says he is in the “hot seat” but he feels he has the support of the F1 drivers.

2025 marked Marques’ first full year in charge as Formula 1 race director, but it wasn’t without controversy.

“But of course, F1 is another level…”

While several calls were called out by drivers and fans alike, Williams took it one further when Carlos Sainz suffered a 10-second penalty plus two penalty points when he collided with Liam Lawson and they clashed. The stewards ruled that Lawson had “the right to the corner” because his Racing Bulls car was ahead at the apex and penalised Sainz.

The penalty points were subsequently overturned as the “stewards agree with Williams’ characterisation of the collision as a racing incident”.

It was, but one moment in the season, in the season in which the stewards and the drivers disagreed.

From Australia to Abu Dhabi, there were several defining moments in 2025 where Marques and his stewards set the stage.

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Marques, however, believes it was a good season for F1’s judging panel.

“It has been fantastic,” Marques told Motorsport.com.

“At the end of the day, I would say the majority of race directors would dream of this seat. Of course, it’s a hot seat. Let’s make it clear.

“But saying this, I have a great team with me. It’s not a one-man show.

“There’s five of us in race control. We have more people in Geneva with a secondary race control. There’s a big team behind me. But it has been fantastic. I really enjoy it.”

“As a race director I completed all the steps.

“In single-seaters I did all categories: F4, Formula Regional, F3 and F2. I also did touring cars, world endurance, Le Mans, which means I have all that background.

“But of course, F1 is another level, so the standards are even higher.”

But while the controversial calls made headlines, F1 Grand Prix Drivers Association director Carlos Sainz applauded Marques and his team.

“Honestly, I can only say good things about Rui,” Sainz said late in the season.

“The way he’s stood up to the job and delivered from the get-go, the way he’s listened to us, the way he’s trying to apply that – he’s one of the key figures behind us drivers feeling comfortable when someone with good judgement and common sense is leading that role.

“Together with Tim [Malyon, FIA sporting director], they’ve been doing a very good job and I’m honestly very, very happy with the way they’ve been acting. That’s why the only thing we need to solve at the moment is this situation with the guidelines, the penalties and all that.”

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