Charles Whiting (12 August 1952 – 14 March 2019)[1] was Chief Mechanic for the Brabham F1 team and latterly the Formula One race director.

[3] He watched his first motor race when he climbed over the fence to see the 1964 British Grand Prix, held at Brands Hatch close to his family home.

[4] During the 2005 United States Grand Prix, Whiting was involved in a controversy caused by Michelin when the company realised the tyres it had brought to Indianapolis were 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.

[12] Zhou Guanyu also credited it for saving his life when his car was trapped between a tyre barrier and a fence at the 2022 British Grand Prix.

[16][18] In an obituary, journalist Adam Cooper described Whiting as the "perfect man for the difficult role of referee" due to his calm demeanour.