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The late-season departure of the Formula 1 race director is a very strange development for the FIA.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s organisation has had a lot of turnover in senior positions during his controversial presidency, including sporting director Steve Nielsen, technical director Tim Goss, and CEO Natalie Robyn.
Now race director Niels Wittich joins the list.
Little about it makes sense but all signs point to some kind of sudden fall-out, potentially directly between Wittich and Ben Sulayem himself.
The timing is off, with just three races left in 2024. It is also clearly a very sudden exit as it is known to have caught people in the FIA and F1 by surprise. And there has been no obvious pressure for this to happen – not like when Wittich’s predecessor Michael Masi was embroiled in controversies in 2021, culminating in the events of the Abu Dhabi season finale and the restart call that directly influenced the championship outcome.
Wittich’s time as race director has not been characterised by flashpoints. He has been an understated official, and while that does not guarantee he has been great at his job, he certainly does not have an obviously divisive reputation, let alone a poor one.
It is also not a scenario the FIA would tend to want to drop a new race director into.
Three races to go might be seen as a good chance to prepare for doing the job full-time next year but there is one championship still on the line, maybe two, and so the smooth running of the final three events is key. Pressure can still be a factor in these final events.
Everybody in F1 just wants a calm, experienced head in race control. Wittich seemed to offer that. So, has he jumped – or was he pushed? If it was the former, it would have been telegraphed more, rather than the surprise it clearly has been to several parties.
And when something happens as suddenly and confusingly as this, it often means a clash between individuals – and some kind of Wittich/Ben Sulayem tension is likey. Motorsport-Magazin.com claims to have spoken to Wittich who insisted he has not resigned, so a sudden axing is surely what has happened here.
The question is why? The FIA and Ben Sulayem have come under fire even if the race director has faded back into the background.
There has been pressure over various matters, either directly related to trackside issues (like racing rules and track limits) or broader topics like the Grand Prix Drivers' Association criticising the FIA’s handling of “driver misconduct” (AKA swearing in press conferences).
Wittich will inevitably have been involved in dialogue with the drivers around all of this, including the swearing issue, in drivers’ briefings on grand prix weekends. And it is known that not everybody in Ben Sulayem’s employ has agreed with his policies or his methods.
Perhaps they disagreed on certain matters. The BBC reports Wittich was set to be dropped anyway and his early exit comes “as a result of his relationship” with Ben Sulayem.
While it's informed speculation at this stage, no more convincing an explanation currently exists than yet another high-profile FIA figure falling out of favour with the current leadership.
