The Formula 1 race director is in charge of race operations at every grand prix during the season.

They are responsible for a range of vital factors during the race weekend, including:

It is a demanding role, in which potentially life-and-death safety decisions must be taken in a matter of seconds, alongside ensuring the fair running of an enormous sporting event.

It is the stewards, rather than the race director, who investigate on-track incidents and decide on the penalties which are dished out to drivers found guilty of misdemeanours.

The race director is employed by the FIA, motorsport’s governing body. F1 has now had four different race directors in the past three years.

Charlie Whiting was F1 race director for over 20 years until his sudden death before the 2019 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. Whiting had earned a degree in mechanical engineering before rising to chief mechanic of the Brabham F1 team, overseeing Nelson Piquet’s two title successes in 1981 and 1983.

He was replaced by Michael Masi, who had combined studies in marketing with voluntary positions in low-level motor racing series early in his career. The Australian rose up the ranks to become race director of Formula 2 and 3 before his promotion to F1. He was eventually removed from the position after an error in the controversial 2021 season finale in Abu Dhabi.

Niels Wittich then took on the role in conjunction with Eduardo Freitas, the pair having been race directors in DTM and World Endurance Championship respectively, before becoming sole race director in the latter part of the 2022 season.

The FIA announced Wittich’s departure before the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix, with Rui Marques – who first joined the FIA in 2012 and has worked as race director in a variety of series – taking over.

Marques, 51, is stepping up from F2 and F3, having previously worked on the World Touring Car Championship and in karting in his native Portugal.

A BURGLAR who broke into Raheem Sterling’s mansion forcing him to fly home from the World Cup has been jailed.

Emiliano Krosi, 24, carried out 33 burglaries, including the raid on the England star’s home on December 3, 2022.

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He was part of a gang that used a ladder in the rear garden to climb through Arsenal ace Sterling’s bedroom window and steal ten of his Rolex watches.

An estimated £300,000 of designer gear was taken from the footballer’s £7million home in Oxshott, Surrey.

Albanian Krosi, who travelled illegally to the UK in the back of a lorry, previously admitted to being involved in 15 of the burglaries.

But yesterday at Guilford crown court Judge Catherine Hartley ruled he was involved in the remaining 18 break-ins.

She sentenced him to a total of 12 years and ten months in prison.

She said: “You are a dishonest and greedy man who willingly and enthusiastically took part in what was a familial, criminal gang.

“Your greed and your criminality has resulted in a huge toll of human misery.”

His offending took place while on bail after being caught with cocaine and cannabis on a train from London Euston to Coventry.

Krosi, from Southend, Essex, was sentenced to 19 months for possession with intent to supply which will run consecutively to the ­sentence for burglary.

Surrey Police continue to hunt for his dad Alfred Isufi, 48, uncle Henri Osman, 44, and 22-year-old cousin ­Gerard Kalaja, who are all believed to have fled the UK.

They are suspected of being part of the gang which raided houses across the Home Counties from November 2022 to March 2023.

Other victims included ex-Crystal Palace player Scott Dann and Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella, whose home was targeted days before his then team-mate Sterling’s.

PC Katherine Stevens, from Surrey Police, said: “Krosi was extremely methodical and organised in his targeting of homes, with the sole aim to make as much money as possible off the back of other people.”

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Victor Wembanyama had a career-high 50 points and the San Antonio Spurs rolled to a 139-130 victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night.

Wembanyama was 8 for 16 on 3-pointers, also setting a career high, as San Antonio won its second straight.

Jordan Poole had 42 points for Washington, which lost its sixth straight.

At 20 years 314 days, Wembanyama is the fourth-youngest player to score 50 points, trailing only Brandon Jennings (20/52), LeBron James (20/80) and Devin Booker (20/145).

Wembanyama’s previous high was 49 points in a 130-126 overtime victory over New York.

Wembanyama made at least six 3-pointers for the third straight game.

Devin Vassell had 17 points in his third game for the Spurs since returning from offseason surgery to repair a fractured right foot.

Takeaways

Wizards: Alexandre Sarr blocked Wembanya’s shot in the second quarter and dunked on his fellow Frenchman in the third quarter. Sarr finished with 12 points, two rebounds, two assists and a block in 25 minutes.

Spurs: Wembanyama is the eighth player in franchise history to score 50 points. David Robinson holds the franchise record with 71 points against the Los Angeles Clippers on April 24, 1994.

Key moment

Stuck at 48 points, Wembanyama made an 18-foot jumper for his 49th and 50th points with 8:49 remaining to give San Antonio a 115-98 lead.

Key stat

Wembanyama is the first player in league history with 20 3-pointers and 25 blocks over a six-game span.

Up next

The Spurs host Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night in the final game of a five-game homestand. The are at Atlanta on Friday night to close a five-game trip.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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While Crowley has been given another chance after being withdrawn just before the hour mark against New Zealand, the uncapped Sam Prendergast is set to make his debut having replaced his Leinster team-mate Ciaran Frawley on the bench.

Prendergast was one of the stars of Ireland’s Under-20s Six Nations Grand Slam win in 2023 and also impressed during this year’s Emerging Ireland series in South Africa, starting three games at fly-half in the space of the week.

“He’s ready,” Farrell said of 21-year-old Prendergast.

“For a young fella who has not had much game time provincially, he’s obviously had more of late, but in an ironic way he’s been patient enough because in his own mind he’s thought he’s been ready for quite some time. He’s that type of kid, he’s confident.

“The experience he’s had around the squad, he’s a lot more comfortable in his own skin. The reason for taking him on the Emerging [Ireland] tour was to make sure he understood what it was to grab hold of his team and show that he’s in charge and he showed that in abundance.

“We’ve seen the knock-on effect of that in the squad the past couple of weeks.”

JAKE PAUL is protecting his ear with diamonds ahead of fighting Mike Tyson – after putting his money where his mouth is.

The YouTuber-turned-boxer brings heavyweight great Tyson back to the ring after TWO DECADES away for a controversial clash on Friday in Texas.

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It comes 27 years on from Iron Mike’s infamous Bite Fight when he sunk his teeth into Evander Holyfield’s ear to get disgracefully disqualified.

But despite Tyson settling down as the reformed Baddest Man on The Planet nowadays, Paul is taking no chances.

Showing off his diamond ear protector, he said: “I’m not getting my s*** bite off on Friday night.

“So I got my diamond spiked ear covers right there.”

Tyson returns for the first time as a professional since 2005 when he quit on his stool and threw the towel in on his career.

He did have a 2020 exhibition bout with fellow great Roy Jones Jr but this time he is back for real.

Tyson, 58, is due to take on Paul, 27, over eight two-minute rounds – opposed to the usual three – with bigger 14oz gloves on instead of 10oz.

And the majority of the 12 stars on the undercard backed Iron Mike to shake off the rust and beat the younger man.

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JAKE PAUL VS MIKE TYSON: ALL THE DETAILS YOU NEED AHEAD OF HUGE BOUT

CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERS

So Paul retaliated and put three $1MILLION bets on with Bruce Carrington, Neeraj Goyat and Armando Casamonica.

Katie Taylor – who rematches Amanda Serrano on the in the chief support – also told Paul to put up his purse – worth $40m (£30m).

Paul said: “Yeah, let’s best the purse. Deal. And I’m sending out contracts, too.”

Cub Swanson knows the end is near, but he isn’t ready to call it a career quite yet.

Swanson (29-14 MMA, 14-10 UFC) will make his 25th octagon appearance when he takes on Billy Quarantillo (18-6 MMA, 6-4 UFC) on Dec. 14 at UFC on ESPN 63 from Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. Ahead of his fight against Quarantillo, 41-year-old Swanson revealed to MMA Junkie that he signed a new contract with the UFC.

“I just signed a new multifight deal, four fights,” Swanson told MMA Junkie Radio. “It’s fight by fight, but this would have been my last one, so I told them I didn’t intend on fighting out of my contract and going other places. I want to stay here. I think it’s fitting, and so we did a new deal. But it’s fight by fight.”

Swanson has split his past six appearances. He’s fought the who’s who at featherweight throughout his career and is happy to draw someone who isn’t a rising contender on a tear.

“I know that he’s tough, he’s gritty,” Swanson said of Quarantillo. “He wants to be in the exciting fights, and he’s been in a bunch of them, so I think that’s what he wants. He wanted a fight like me so he could go out there and have a big performance, something he could be proud of. That’s the kind of fighter I think he is.

“He’s getting up there in age. He’s been around for a little bit, so I like the matchup. I kept getting told stop fighting the youngsters who are on their way up, and I think the last two opponents have been good opponents. They’re guys who like to fight, but they’ve been around for a while. I think the fans appreciate it.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 63.