Departing Race Director Contradicts FIA's Official Statement: 'I Have Not Resigned'

Wednesday, 13 November 2024 at 09:00

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Former race director Niels Wittich contradicted FIA's official statement on the day of the announcement of his departure, saying he has "not resigned."

Tuesday, the 12th of November, was packed with announcements from the World of F1. First, Alpine officially confirmed a power unit supply partnership with Mercedes.

Then, Aston Martin announced their technical director Dan Fallows departed his position, F1 revealed a new exciting car reveal event for 2025, and FIA announced their race director Niels Wittich stepped down.

The last one, however, was quite controversial. Why? Because the departing race director himself contradicted what was written in the official statement published by FIA. The official statement read:

"The FIA can confirm that Niels Wittich has stepped down from his position as F1 Race Director to pursue new opportunities."

"Niels has fulfilled his numerous responsibilities as Race Director with professionalism and dedication. We thank him for his commitment, and we wish him the best for the future."

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While the official statement suggests that Wittich stepped down from the position by himself, the 52-year-old race director told Motorsport-magazin.com: "I have not resigned."

Moreover, Motorsport-Magazin suggested that Wittich learned about his dismissal only very shortly before the public confirmation was released.

Wittch was race director from the start of the 2022 season (after replacing Michael Masi) until the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

The announcement that came from FIA on November 12th means we will see a new race director for the final three race weekends of the season - Rui Marques. The official statement added:

"Rui Marques will assume the role of Race Director from the Las Vegas Grand Prix."

"Rui brings a wealth of experience having previously served as track marshal, scrutineer, national and international steward, Deputy Race Director and Race Director in various championships. Most recently, he held the position of Formula 2 and Formula 3 Race Director."