The 2024 F1 season saw a lot of drama unfold within the FIA, the governing body of the sport. The likes of Johnny Herbert saw himself stripped from his stewarding duties, but the biggest shock came when race director, Niels Wittich, also saw himself sacked.
Wittich, who had been the incumbent race director since 2022, after Michael Masi’s sacking, was relieved of his duties midway through last season. The German’s last race in charge of race control was the 2024 Brazilian GP.
And while his dismissal came as a shock for the entire paddock, no one was more perplexed by this decision than Wittich himself. “I saw no indications that anything wasn’t working or that there was any reason to make a personnel change,” he told Sky Germany as quoted by RacingNews365.
Having said that, he rubbished any bad blood between himself and FIA President, Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
BREAKING: FIA confirm Niels Wittich has stepped down from his position as F1 Race Director pic.twitter.com/VXuKNVZ9jm
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) November 12, 2024
“The last time I spoke with the FIA president was last year in China [April]. So I can’t say that we had any kind of falling out or a negative relationship. I had relatively little contact with him,” he explained.
Wittich had initially come in as Masi’s replacement in 2022 on a rotational basis after the Abu Dhabi 2021 controversy that shrouded the conclusion of the previous year’s title battle. However, after sharing the race director duties with Eduardo Freitas, Wittich undertook the role full-time from the 2023 season.
Despite seemingly cordial relationships with Ben Sulayem, the German was still axed from his duties. And to this day, he has been waiting to get any sort of official indications as to why he was sacked as the race director.
2024 season was a watershed moment of bad blood between FIA and F1
Last season saw one of the worst periods of rift between the FIA and F1. Many paddock insiders and fans were up in arms with the FIA for inconsistency in decisions, and Ben Sulayem’s clampdown of driver swearing also caused a furor — with Max Verstappen being fined for using expletives at the Singapore GP.
Tensions rose to an all-time high when the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) addressed an open letter to the FIA President, asking for transparency and respect. This tug of war between the drivers and the FIA could have been a reason that accelerated Wittich’s dismissal.
However, the drivers weren’t happy about this decision either. In fact, Ben Sulayem had to shut down calls for justification, deeming his decisions and how he runs the FIA were none of the drivers’ business.
Wittich was replaced by former F3 and F2 race director, Rui Marques from the Las Vegas GP onwards. His first race in charge wasn’t without controversy as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc went on an x-rated rant over the team radio comms for his run-in with teammate, Carlos Sainz.
Leclerc had previously been sanctioned by the FIA for swearing during a press conference at the Mexico City GP. When quizzed about the Monegasque’s and Verstappen’s sanctions, he laughed it off by saying, “I’m not going to go into that. I’m just a race director!”
