Image Unavailable, Please Login Although not a driver, he was still a very prominent figure in F1. Charlie Whiting was initially the Chief Mechanic for the Brabham F1 team before becoming the Formula One Race Director. At the FIA, he served as the Race Director, Safety Delegate, Permanent Starter, and head of the F1 Technical Department. His responsibilities included managing the logistics of each F1 Grand Prix, inspecting cars in parc fermé conditions before races, enforcing FIA regulations, and operating the lights that signal the start of each race. Sadly, on the morning of 14 March 2019 in Melbourne, just three days before the 2019 Formula One season’s opening race at the Australian Grand Prix, Whiting died at the age of 66 from a pulmonary embolism.
