Lewis leads tributes after race director’s sudden death
FOrMUla ONe’S travelling family, gathering for the first days of the new term, were united in grief after race director Charlie Whiting’s sudden death.
the 66-year-old was found dead in his hotel room on Melbourne’s Southbank yesterday morning, having suffered a pulmonary embolism.
lewis Hamilton led the tributes to the widely respected official, who pressed the start button for every race of the world champion’s career.
Whiting worked at Bernie ecclestone’s Brabham team before joining the FIa in 1988. He had been race director for 22 years.
‘I am shaken,’ said Hamilton ahead of Sunday’s australian Grand Prix. ‘He did so much looking after drivers and safety. I really enjoyed our talks over the years. God rest your soul.’
Whiting was a familiar figure to tV viewers for triggering the lights-out sequence from his tower on the grid before walking back to race control to oversee the race.
It was he who decided when a grand prix was red-flagged and a safety car deployed. But it is for his important role in the safety transformation that diminished motor racing’s dangers that the drivers of today are most in his debt. Since ayrton Senna’s death in 1994, Jules Bianchi is the only F1 driver to have perished, following his accident at Suzuka, Japan, in 2014 — a remarkable infrequency when set against the attrition of the preceding decades.
among several safety innovations, he introduced the halo device that saved Charles leclerc from potentially fatal injuries at last year’s Belgian Grand Prix, where Fernando alonso’s airborne Mclaren would otherwise have landed on his head.
Ferrari’s four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel walked the first few corners of Melbourne’s albert Park track with Whiting on Wednesday. ‘I have known him a long time,’ said the German. ‘His door was always open. He was our man, the driver’s man.’ Jean todt, the FIa president, said: ‘ Charlie was a central and inimitable figure in F1 and embodied the ethics and spirit of this sport.’ Formula One’s head of motorsport ross Brawn said: ‘I have known Charlie all my racing life. We worked as mechanics together, became friends, and spent so much time together at tracks across the world. ‘I was filled with immense sadness when I heard the tragic news. I’m devastated. It’s a great loss for me personally but also for the entire F1 family.’
red Bull principal Christian Horner said: ‘Charlie was the referee and voice of reason. He was a man of great integrity.’
Hamilton’s Mercedes boss toto Wolff said: ‘He was balanced in his approach, subtle in his understanding and had the interest of Formula One as his main focus.’
Whiting was married to Juliet and had two children. His role in Melbourne will be taken over by australian Michael Masi.
Officials are considering how to honour Whiting’s memory over the weekend. His FIa colleagues wore black armbands yesterday.