The commonly held opinion by the Formula 1 driving fraternity was a state of surprise when asked about former Race Director Niels Wittich’s recent dismissal.
Wittich was let go by the FIA last Tuesday, with just three rounds remaining in the 2024 F1 season, with Formula 2 and Formula 3 Race Director Rui Marques stepping into replace him.
The official press release was that Wittich had stepped down, but he told German publication Motorsport-Magazin: “I have not resigned.”
Not only were drivers surprised at the sudden change ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, but the likes of George Russell were concerned the FIA didn’t consult any of them ahead of the decision.
“We definitely weren’t aware,” Russell said during Wednesday’s Las Vegas GP press conference. “It was a bit of a surprise, I think, for everybody.
“For us, often, as drivers, we feel like we’re the last to find out this sort of information. And when it involves us kind of directly it would be nice to be kept in the loop and just have an understanding of what decisions are being made.”
Still, Russell exclaimed that there were drivers who weren’t happy with the direction Wittich was taking matters, saying “I can only talk on behalf of myself here, as opposed to any of the other drivers, but I think there’s no secret that some were not happy with what was going on in terms of the decisions that were being made.
“But at the end of the day I think, working together with us, we could have helped improve the matter.
“I think sometimes just hiring and firing is not the solution. You need to work together to improve the problem.”
Kevin Magnussen misses Charlie Whiting’s style of F1 race direction
Haas’ Kevin Magnussen said that the role of F1 Race Director has changed recently, encouraging an “us and them” dynamic between drivers and racing officials.
Wittich was the first full-time sole Race Director following Michael Masi’s dismissal after the 2021 season.
Masi succeeded the late, great Charlie Whiting as race director and Magnussen would like things to go back to how they were under the beloved Briton.
“I do tend to compare to the Charlie Whiting days,” Magnussen said.
“Certainly for us drivers, he was someone that we felt really connected to, and it always felt like we were being listened to.
“Whereas now it sort of seems like it’s a lot of us against them almost, and it should definitely be more of a cooperation.”
Ferrari drivers admit Niels Wittich dismissal ‘could have been managed better’
The running theme amongst the drivers was that Wittich’s dismissal could have been handled with a bit more finesse.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, for instance, admitted “it’s a bit weird with three races to do that” before suggesting “maybe you would do it after the season, and then you have a bit of time for the race director to get up to speed with things.”
Again, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz implied that the FIA should have managed the situation more smoothly.
Leclerc said “that came out a bit of nowhere. I think we were all surprised.
“{ think more than speaking about the decision, which we can all have our own opinion, I think the timing was a bit surprising and to do it so late in the season at such a crucial moment of the season. Could have probably been managed in a better way.”
Meanwhile Sainz added “just kindly asking from here that the new [race director] is to be open-minded, to listen to us, and to appreciate our feedback, because if we say things with the intention of changing the track something, or we say, communicate something on the radio, is because we truly believe that.”
READ MORE – FIA announces Niels Wittich has vacated F1 Race Director role
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