The questions the FIA must address after Wittich’s surprise F1 departure

The sudden departure of Formula 1’s race director Niels Wittich has caught the entire paddock by surprise and is leaving the beleaguered governing body with more questions than answers, some more uncomfortable than others.

Was Wittich pushed or did he jump?

The FIA announced on Tuesday that Wittich was “stepping down” after less than three seasons as F1’s race director, two of which were by himself after initially splitting duties with FIA WEC race director Eduardo Freitas. And while thanking the 52-year-old German for his services, the phrase that Wittich left to “pursue other interests” is the oldest trick in the book to suggest someone has been dismissed rather than stepped back voluntarily. And indeed it soon emerged that the decision did not come from Wittich, who appeared to confirm to the German outlet Motorsport Magazin that he was only told hours before the FIA statement that his services were no longer required.

Funnily enough, Wittich is not even the first FIA race director to be said to “pursue other interests”, with Roger Lane-Nott’s departure in 1996 described in the same terms. After a tough single season as F1’s race director, former submarine commander Lane-Nott was replaced by FIA president Max Mosley for the much missed Charlie Whiting.

Why did Wittich go now?

The most puzzling aspect of Wittich’s replacement by F2 and F3 director Rui Marques is the timing, with three races left to run in the 2024 campaign and one week before F1 travels to Las Vegas. While there had been rumours about FIA president Mohamed Ben Sulayem looking at making a change, the shock timing of the announcement has appeared to have taken many people in the paddock by surprise, not least people within the FIA itself.

Race control had caught flack at the Brazilian Grand Prix, with Red Bull unhappy with the timing of a red flag in qualifying that it felt cost Max Verstappen, and with questions raised over the late virtual safety car call in the sprint race for a stricken Nico Hulkenberg. But generally, Wittich has been well regarded and uncontroversial, and acknowledged by many as doing a very difficult job relatively well under challenging circumstances, returning some stability to the role after Michael Masi’s fraught spell at the helm.

There has also been unease over the consistency of judging incidents and handing out penalties, but it must be pointed out that this does not fall under race control, which can only refer incidents to…