FIA race director Niels Wittich steps down, Rui Marques to take over in the F1 Las Vegas GP

The FIA race director Niels Wittich has stepped down with immediate effect and will be replaced by Rui Marques in the F1 Las Vegas GP. In a decision that comes as a surprise to many, the German is moving from his current position to pursue new opportunities.

Wittich became the race director after the 'AD 2021' scandal involving Michael Masi. The Australian courted a lot of controversy and online hate when he made the call in the 2021 title decider to bring the safety car in on the final lap and go racing. The move left Lewis Hamilton on the backfoot against Max Verstappen, who had fresh soft tires.

As a result, the Dutch driver capitalized on the restart and overtook the Mercedes driver to win the race. The title-deciding move led to Masi's departure, with Niels Wittich replacing him as the FIA race director.

The 2024 F1 season was the first time we had a semblance of a title battle since 2021 and the race director and the stewarding faced a lot of scrutiny this season as well.

Whether that has played a role in Wittich's departure is something that's not entirely clear. In a press release issued by the FIA, the governing body informed of Wittich's departure and him being replaced by Rui Marques from the F1 Las Vegas GP.

“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."

"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.”

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FIA suffering from departures of key personnel

The FIA has been recently suffering from retrenchment of its resources. Not too long ago, the secretary general of mobility, Jacob Bangsgaard, and the director of communications, Luke Skipper, left the organization.

The workings of the governing body have been under scrutiny for some time now, with the governing body being recently called out by the GPDA for not treating the drivers like adults. There have been comments made about the director as well, who has seemingly rubbed many in the paddock the wrong way, as was evident by the comments released by the GPDA.

To add to this, there have been other controversies involving the swearing penalty that was issued to Max Verstappen, or the seeming lack of consistency with Charles Leclerc getting away with the same offense.

The governing body has been facing the heat for some time, and with the race director's sudden exit, questions would be raised of the FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.