The Supercars champion will act as a driving standards advisor for the F1 feeder series when they kick off their respective seasons in Melbourne.
Courtney retired from full-time Supercars racing at the end of last year and is this year dovetailing his career in real estate with a TV role with Supercars Media and as an enduro driver with Team 18.
He will now add this officiating job across the Albert Park weekend.
“It was a surprise, but it’s an honour to be called up, and I’m really excited,” Courtney told the official Supercars website.
“It’s an important role, and one I’m keen for. They have a driving code, and say there’s a line ball incident, I have to give them the opinion from a driver’s point of view.
“Like [Craig Baird in Supercars], I don’t make a call on the punishment – it’s more a case of determining who’s at fault, especially if it’s not clear from the naked eye.”
Buy tickets
Courtney is no stranger to open-wheel racing having once been on a clear path to F1.
He was successful in Formula Ford and F3 in Europe and on the radar of F1 teams before his career trajectory was derailed by a huge crash while testing an F1 car for Jaguar at Monza in 2002.
He went on to rebuild his career in Australia, which led to him winning the Supercars title in 2010.
That previous open-wheel experience will clearly be useful in this latest role, although Courtney feels his touring car career will be equally beneficial.
“It’s racing. It doesn’t matter what car you’re in, you have to put yourself in their position and make a call,” he explained.
“I have a lot of experience from being on the other side of the fence, so sitting in this position is something that excites me.
“It’s quite a feather in the cap to be singled out. It’s a great news story for Supercars as a championship, that we’re at a level where the FIA chooses to pick one of us as opposed to bringing one of their own.”
Discussion about this post