Tuesday has been busy in the Formula 1 world.
F1 has a new Race Director
A change has come at F1 ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix
Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images
Mark Schofield is a former college quarterback and attorney covering the NFL and F1.
Two big stories already emerged, first, the long-expected announcement that Alpine and Mercedes had reached an agreement for Mercedes to be Alpine’s power unit supplier starting with the 2026 F1 season. Then came word that Dan Fallows would be moving aside from his current role as the team’s Technical Director, ahead of Adrian Newey’s arrival next year.
The latest news? Niels Wittich has stepped down as the sport’s Race Director with immediate effect. According to a statement from the FIA, the sport’s governing body, Wittich will “pursue new opportunities.” Wittich began serving in the Race Director role at the start of the 2022 season, replacing Michael Masi. Masi was removed from that role as part of the fallout from the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
According to the FIA Rui Marques, who has served as the Race Director for both F2 and F3, will take over as the F1 Race Director with the Las Vegas Grand Prix, later this month.
“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,” read the FIA statement.
“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,” added the FIA statement.
The move comes in the wake of the São Paulo Grand Prix, which was hampered by wet and rainy conditions. Qualifying for the São Paulo Grand Prix was moved from Saturday to Sunday due to the weather, and numerous red flags impacted the qualifying session that took place early Sunday morning. One of the drivers impacted was none other than Max Verstappen, who was shockingly eliminated in Q2 and forced to start the race down in P17.
Then in the Grand Prix itself, numerous red flags flew as drivers battled heavy rains and limited visibility. In the midst of it all Verstappen delivered one of the best drives of his career, slicing through the field to finish first after starting at the back of the grid, a drive that moved him to the cusp of his fourth straight Drivers’ Championship.
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