The FIA has appointed a brand new deputy race director in Method 1, selling Paul Burns to the function to work with present lead Rui Marques.
This follows Claire Dubbelman’s departure from the FIA firstly of 2026 to hitch the Saudi Vehicle and Bike Federation, leaving the deputy publish open for the opening two rounds of the season.
The FIA has since promoted Burns, who has expertise in the same function, having served because the assistant F2 race director by 2025 and for the F4 and Method Regional courses on the Macau Grand Prix.
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The Northern Irishman labored at Method One Administration as a part of its timekeeping workforce, during which he was concerned in signing off the outcomes at grands prix. This was preceded by a interval spent engaged on timekeeping at a wide range of UK and Irish circuits.
He moved to the FIA in 2023, becoming a member of its F1 race operations workforce earlier than taking over operational duties throughout the junior classes.
In a publish on Instagram, Dubbelman defined her causes for leaving the FIA earlier this yr, stating that “saying nothing leaves room for hypothesis” – maybe to distance her personal departure from a group of higher-profile FIA losses throughout the previous few years.
Claire Dubbelman, former FIA deputy race director
Picture by: Li Chao Paddocker – NurPhoto – Getty Photographs
“After nearly a decade on the FIA, I felt that I had reached some extent the place I had maximised each alternative accessible to me throughout the organisation,” she wrote.
“This transfer will not be about strolling away from the FIA, however getting into a job in a brand new setting that challenges me on the subsequent stage.
“It gives me with a perspective to contribute and develop the game in a manner that I did not see potential in my earlier function. I’m genuinely enthusiastic about being in Saudi [Arabia] and there’s a lot alternative right here.
“By being right here, I really feel like I’m a part of its future, serving to the Saudi Motorsport Federation to pave the best way; facilitating expertise and infrastructure for the game to thrive.”
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