Rumors
'Respected steward fired after upsetting FIA president Ben Sulayem'
- Ludo van Denderen
Tim Mayer will no longer be a steward in Formula 1, The Daily Mail reports. The 58-year-old was reportedly sacked by Mohammed Ben Sulayem and has been criticised recently for not being impartial. The son of McLaren co-founder Teddy Mayer spent 15 years in his position as a steward as he worked his way up the ranks to become one of the most trusted members of the FIA.
His exit comes just a few weeks after FIA race director Niels Wittch was relieved of his position with just three races to go before the end of the season. Wittch was replaced by F2 race director Rui Marques.
Mayer was the chief steward in Formula 1. But after his last appearance at the Mexican Grand Prix, he was no longer called upon as the chairman of the stewards. Then, there was criticism that stewards should not be associated with a team. Without mentioning a name, Jos Verstappen referred to Mayer after Max Verstappen was hit with two 10-second penalties for incidents with Lando Norris.
Did Mayer have to leave for this?
Mayer also worked for the organisers of the United States Grand Prix in Austin the week before Mexico. That organisation received a slap on the wrist from the FIA because fans had stormed the track. The Daily Mail reports that comments made by the American promoters bothered Ben Sulayem. Therefore, it was decided to sack Mayer.
This article was written in collaboration with Toby Nixon.
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