What goes on inside Formula 1’s race control room

F1’s race control was thrust into everyone’s living room in 2021, when then-race director Michael Masi decided it was a good idea to air his communications to the TV audience. Following his departure ahead of the 2022 season, race control reverted to its old, and rather secretive self.

Courtesy of Formula 1’s official partner Rolex, Motorsport.com got some exclusive access at the Miami Grand Prix. Behind a very ordinary-looking door – as we walk in before Free Practice 1 begins, FIA driver steward Vitantonio Liuzzi is on the phone and gives us a cheery wave – lies the hub of the race weekend…

It’s a sizeable windowless room, with over 30 people assigned roles, sitting at three rows of desks. Those towards the front of the room are locals, assigned roles by the FIA’s US automobile competition committee ACCUS, who will also perform the same roles in Austin’s Circuit of the Americas or at the Las Vegas street race. 

The first thing that strikes you as noticeable is that it’s very quiet beyond some short chattering into headsets – nobody is talking much directly to the person next to them. The other is the high number of females in the room, probably a 50/50 gender split.

The majority of the FIA staff – from the sport’s governing body that runs the sport – sit at the back of the room, with an elevated view above everyone in front of them and the huge video wall that almost spans the front of the room.

“They have the seats that are furthest back for the best view of what everybody else is seeing, so that they can kind of oversee all of the information,” says Roman De Lauw, the FIA’s F1 communications officer, who is our guide to who’s who and what they all do.

The smart blue desks at which they are sat, which are stacked with electrical communications equipment, are transported along with the FIA’s other kit – such as weighbridge scales and the safety cars – to each of the races. This ensures the systems are the same at every race, and each has a myriad selection of buttons and a set of video screens.

At the far end of the row is the video analyst, and towards the middle is the race director, Niels Wittich – who sits next to the local clerk of the course (in Miami this is Paul Waiter) and his deputies. They are all in direct contact so that any incidents can be quickly reviewed and any actions – such as a referral to…