Formula 1 race director Niels Wittich has stepped down with immediate effect, the FIA confirmed on Tuesday. He will be replaced by Rui Marques from the next race — the Las Vegas Grand Prix — on Nov. 24.
F1’s race director oversees all sporting and technical matters, with individual cases at events delegated to a rotating panel of race stewards.
The FIA’s officiating has been a recurring theme since before Wittich arrived. The topic has been a big one in recent weeks, with drivers upset over inconsistency in penalties and at the governing body’s decision to hand Max Verstappen community service for swearing at a news conference.
F1’s drivers last week wrote a letter to the FIA asking to be treated like adults, while also giving president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, Wittich’s boss, a rebuke over how he spoke about the sport and its competitors.
