Charly Whiting

Charles Whiting [1] 12 August — 14 March was a British motorsports director. Whiting was born on 12 August [2] in Sevenoaks , Kent.

He came to working in motor racing himself through his older brother Nick, who was competing in autocross and circuit racing. Having decided to follow a career in race engineering, he attended a technical college and then the Borough Polytechnic Institute , earning qualifications in mechanical engineering.

Whiting's first job in motor sport was preparing rally cars. In he and his brother were running a Surtees in the British F series for race driver Divina Galica.

Following the demise of the team, he joined Bernie Ecclestone 's Brabham team, where he would stay for the following decade, becoming chief mechanic for the World Drivers' Championship successes of Nelson Piquet in and He served as lead official at every Formula One race, being in charge of everything related to rules and their interpretation.

During the United States Grand Prix, Whiting was involved in a controversy caused by the tyres which Michelin had brought to Indianapolis being unsafe to use.

Michelin offered either tyres with a new specification to replace its seven customer Formula One teams' equipment or asked Whiting to install a chicane in Turn 13 of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway instead.

He refused on the grounds a new specification would be a breach of the rule or the chicane would be unfair to the teams who were able to race safely on the existing track.

Whiting was known for safety improvements in motorsport, such as the halo , which was credited with preventing Charles Leclerc from suffering serious injury at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Whiting was also responsible for introducing the headrest, safety survival cell, front and side impact structures and high cockpit sides. On the morning of 14 March , in Melbourne , Victoria , Australia, three days before the season opening Australian Grand Prix of the Formula One season , Whiting suffered a pulmonary embolism and died, aged In the hours after his death many F1 drivers and personalities commented that he was instrumental to the sport and its successes, being described as "a pillar for the sport", a "really nice guy" and a drivers' man.

Moments of silence were held before the starts of the Australian Grand Prix and the Miles of Sebring in his honour, his death was widely mourned in the motorsport world.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Formula One race director. Whiting at the Japanese Grand Prix. Sevenoaks , Kent , England. Melbourne , Victoria , Australia.

Charlie Whiting Sevenoaks , 12 augustus — Melbourne , 14 maart was een Brits autosportofficial. Tussen en zijn overlijden was hij de wedstrijdleider van de Formule 1.

In deze positie was hij de starter van iedere Formule 1-race. In prepareerde hij met zijn broer een auto van Surtees in de Britse Formule voor coureur Divina Galica.

In stapte hij de Formule 1 in bij het team Hesketh. Nadat het team het jaar daarop de sport verliet, kwam hij bij het door Bernie Ecclestone geleide team Brabham.

Hij bleef tot in deze functie en was onder meer verantwoordelijk voor de kampioenschapssucessen van Nelson Piquet in en In ging Whiting werken voor de FIA als technisch afgevaardigde.

In werd hij benoemd tot wedstrijdleider en veiligheidsafgevaardigde. In de laatste positie was hij verantwoordelijk voor grote verbeteringen in de veiligheid van de sport.

Zo zorgde hij onder meer voor een hoofdsteun op Formule 1-auto's, een veiligheidscel in de auto's, hoge cockpitranden en de halo. In de ochtend van 14 maart overleed Whiting in Melbourne in zijn slaap aan een longembolie , de dag voor de start van het nieuwe Formule 1-seizoen.