FIA BOSS REVEALS 'NEW BLOOD' FOR 2025 F1 SEASON AFTER SHOCK RACE DIRECTOR EXIT

Niels Wiitch was removed from his role as F1 race director in the final weeks of last season

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has revealed there will be more than one F1 race director this season.

Former F1 race director Niels Wittich was removed from his role towards the end of last season in a surprising move by the sport’s governing body.

Wittich’s replacement in the hot seat has not been confirmed but – following Johnny Herbert’s departure as a driver steward last month – Ben Sulayem has revealed that “new blood” will feature in FIA race control from the first race in Australia on 16 March.

Asked about who will be the next F1 race director, Ben Sulayem replied at a press conference in Spain: “Who and how many is a question we will know soon, in the next few days.

“But for sure there will be new blood and there will be more than one [race director]. That’s for sure.

“There have been people learning, there have been people working behind all the time. You can’t just throw somebody into this big challenge.”

McLaren CEO Zak Brown stated last month that his team would be willing to contribute towards paying for full-time FIA officials, yet Ben Sulayem insists that the 10 teams overall do not want to help fund a stewarding crew.

“The teams can complain, drivers can complain, but then they don’t want to pay for it,” Ben Sulayem added.

“I’m being very, very honest and straight with you, this takes a lot of investment. It has taken us more than two and a half years to get to what we are achieving now. Do we have the results? We will know the results when the season starts.

‘It is very important. What if the race director decides not to go or if he gets sick? It’s the same as the FIA. If something happens to me tomorrow, the FIA will continue to function without me, so this has to be a system. It’s not about individuals.

“There are a lot of mistakes and then you blame the FIA. It’s easy to blame the FIA. Why can’t you be productive in your criticism and say: ‘How can we find a solution?’

‘But where is the solution? The solution is in training, the solution is to bring people in.”

Wittich first served as joint F1 race director – the person in charge of enforcing FIA rules, safety cars and parc ferme regulations – with Eduardo Freitas in 2022, following the exit of Michael Masi after the controversial end to the 2021 season in Abu Dhabi.

Prior to Masi, Charlie Whiting held the position of F1 race director and was a highly respected figure for two decades from 1997-2019, before his sad passing prior to the 2019 Australian Grand Prix.

- Kieran Jackson

F1 PRESIDENT BLASTS F1 DRIVERS AS RACE FINES ROW ESCALATES

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has told Formula 1 drivers to mind their own business after they asked where money from race fines was going and why senior figures had left the governing body.

In an interview with Reuters ahead of Sunday's Qatar Grand Prix, the president suggested the drivers should stick to what they know best.

"Do we have to tell them? When something in the teams changes, do they tell us?," Ben Sulayem said when asked about the surprise departure of race director Niels Wittich before last weekend's title-deciding Las Vegas Grand Prix.

"We have the rules, we follow our rules. We don't follow someone else's rule. Simple as this."

Wittich has said he did not resign and the FIA have given no public explanation as to why he suddenly left beyond saying it was to pursue new opportunities. Media reports have said he was sacked.

Leading steward Tim Mayer, the son of former McLaren boss Teddy, and Formula 2 race director Janette Tan have also left.

Mercedes driver George Russell, a director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA), said on Thursday drivers wanted clarity and understanding "of what's going on and who's getting fired next."

Ben Sulayem, a former rally driver who was elected as FIA head in 2021, responded by saying: "Do we tell them how to drive? Do we tell them what to have as their strategy?

 

Mohammed Ben Sulayem was elected as the FIA president in 2021. Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images

"It's none of their business. Sorry ... I am a driver. I respect the drivers. Let them go and concentrate on what they do best, which is race."

The GPDA issued a remarkable statement last month, in response to an FIA clampdown on swearing, in which they asked Ben Sulayem to treat them like adults and mind his own language towards them.

They also requested financial transparency and said all stakeholders, including drivers and teams, should jointly determine how and where the money from fines was spent -- with some suggesting it could help fund professional stewards.

"They talk and then they say, where are you putting the money? Why we don't do this? I don't say 'Oh, sorry, what about you?'," Ben Sulayem said.

"The drivers are getting over 100 million. Do I ask where they spend it? No. It's up to them. It's their right ... We do whatever we do with the money. It's our business. It's also with them and their money. It's their business."

Ben Sulayem said the drivers had his mobile number and he had nothing to hide.

- Reuters 

FIA CHIEF STEVE NIELSEN QUITS AFTER LESS THAN A YEAR

Bryn Lennon - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images

FIA sporting director Steve Nielsen has quit his role with racing's governing body after less than a year in the position.

Nielsen was appointed in January to oversee and improve the FIA's race control operations.

His move from F1 to the FIA followed a series of controversial decisions, most notably the Michael Masi mistake which impacted the end of the 2021 championship at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Within F1 Nielsen's appointment, which saw him work closely with race director Niels Wittich, was seen as a good step to rebuilding trust in the governing body.

As recently as August, Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA) head George Russell described Nielsen as "a really great addition" to the process, but the championship now enters the new year with a void in that position.

According to a report by the BBC, Nielsen stepped away because he did not feel the FIA is willing to make the changes he felt need to be implemented.