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Archive: Whiting's F1 career in his own words

Having started out as a mechanic at Brabham, Charlie Whiting went on to become Formula 1's race director. "Bernie thought that having been on one side of the fence, perhaps I'd be good at catching the buggers from the other side - that's how it all started," he told Maurice Hamilton in this interview from 2012

"'I didn't see him!' Drivers always say that. But the mirrors are great chunky things. Anyway, drivers have got peripheral vision; if you haven't, then there's actually something wrong with your eyes..."

Charlie Whiting is motorsport's poacher turned gamekeeper. A former mechanic who helped put F1 cars together, Charlie is now the race director who ensures that they start safely and run exactly as they should from a technical and sporting point of view. Although instantly recognisable at the race track, he has maintained a low profile off it.

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