In motorsport, 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.
They are responsible for the regular and safety processes of the race weekend, including:
In Formula One, race director is employed by the FIA. A permanent Formula One race director was established in 1988. Before this period, the race director was not fixed.
For the season, Rui Marques serves as the race director.
The position of deputy race director was held by Herbie Blash beginning in 1996. He served in the role until his departure at the end of the 2016 season, and in 2022 he was appointed as the permanent senior advisor to the Race Director. Laurent MekiesâÂÂwho later became the team principal of Red Bull RacingâÂÂsucceeded Blash, and served as Deputy Race Director in 2017 until his departure in March 2018. To replace Mekies, Michael Masi and Scot Elkins shared the role of deputy for the 2018 season. Masi was expected to continue as deputy in 2019, but took as Race Director following Whiting's unexpected death. Colin Haywood served as Deputy Race Director for 2019 and 2020, and for selected races in 2022. Claire Dubbelman served as Deputy Race Director in 2024 and continued the in the role for 2025 on a permanent basis, but left shortly after the season ended.
In American open-wheel racing, currently known as the IndyCar Series, 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, who held the position several times between 1997 and 2015. Beaux Barfield served as race director from 2012 through 2014.
Marek Hanaczewski currently serves as the race director for Formula E. Hanaczewski replaced Scott Elkins, had previously served as Formula E's race director from the 2017âÂÂ18 season until his departure in 2025. Before Elkins, the position was previously held by Oliver Grodowski.
Eduardo Freitas is the current race director for the FIA World Endurance Championship, and has held the position since the series' creation in 2012.
Beaux Barfield has held the role of race director for the IMSA SportsCar Championship since the series' creation in 2014.