FIA surprised by unexpected departure of F1 race director before end of 2024 season

Niels Wittich leaves role with three Grands Prix leftFollows string of exits of senior FIA officials in recent months

The Formula One race director, Niels Wittich, has stepped down from his post with immediate effect in an unexpected decision announced by the FIA on Tuesday. He will be replaced by Rui Marques, who was previously the race director for Formula Two and Formula Three. Wittich’s departure came as a surprise to F1 and is highly unusual in its timing given there are three races of the 2024 season remaining.

Wittich has made no comment on why he has stepped down during the season, but he is the latest senior FIA officials to leave. In the past 12 months the chief executive, Natalie Robyn, moved on after 18 months in post, as have the sporting director, Steve Nielsen, the technical director, Tim Goss, and the head of the FIA commission for women, Deborah Mayer, in what has been a period of turbulence for the FIA president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

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