Starting one of Formula 1’s toughest jobs on one of the most chaotic, jeopardy-laden weekends was never going to be easy – but that was the task thrust upon Rui Marques after the departure of FIA race director Niels Wittich.
Wittich exited in the wake of persistent backlash from F1 drivers against the way the FIA under president Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s leadership has treated drivers.
That’s not an easy set-up for Marques to walk into.
He’s by no means a novice, having served as Formula 2 and Formula 3’s race director as well as handling the Macau Grand Prix the weekend before taking the reins of the Las Vegas GP, but F1 is a different beast.
His first challenge was meeting with all the drivers in the post-practice drivers’ briefing on Thursday night.
That meeting between drivers and FIA officials is essentially a chance for the drivers to request changes and for the race director to remind drivers of any specific rules or responsibilities the weekend, as well as to address any topics from the last race weekend.
So how did Marques (below, right) do in his first meeting with drivers?
“I’d say [it was] positive,” Saturday polesitter George Russell said.
“We’ve been through an era where our comments are taken on board but very little change happens.
“For example [here] a number of drivers spoke about the track limits at the exit of Turn 4, we thought it was a little bit unnecessary on a street circuit. They made a change to it. That’s what we want to see as drivers.
“We want to be heard and see action taken straight away. So far, it’s been positive.”
That change to track limits at Turn 4 was one of two changes Marques sanctioned in response to the feedback from the drivers.
“We also asked for some changes on the pit entry to make the line more visible because we literally couldn’t see the pit entry line, so were very worried about that,” Carlos Sainz explained.
“Today we turned up to track and entry line was widened, a blue line, and we were all saying this was really nice because this is a very nice change with a very good approach.”
That kind of glowing praise of a race director from multiple F1 drivers is rare. In fact multiple drivers were surprised when they arrived at the track to find action had actually been taken.
“Rui really wants to work with us, he made some really good changes on the track,” Esteban Ocon said.
“They painted the [pit entry] line in two different colours which his very clear to us. Moved the line at Turn 4 which is the two things we asked as drivers.
“A very good surprise this morning that this was done.”
Kevin Magnussen praised Marques’s attitude: “He seemed keen to ask questions and be forthcoming of our ideas and opinions. Good feeling.”
And Sainz even called Thursday night’s meeting “one of the best we’ve had in a long time”.
That’s not faux praise either, but part of a consistent trend amongst the drivers that Marques has made a very promising start.
He’s addressing one of the key points in the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association letter that drivers feel like they aren’t listened to when they flag issues.
A pitlane entry line and the edge of the track at Turn 4 are only minor test cases, but Marques has passed those.
Far greater challenges lie on the horizon. A potentially chaotic Las Vegas GP on Saturday night could be the ultimate test and it’s far quicker for a race director to lose credit than it is to gain it.
But Marques’s tenure couldn’t have started better and that’s some much-needed (albeit minor and perhaps temporary) relief to FIA-driver tensions.
