Ex-F1 race director Wittich returns for GTWCE finale

Niels Wittich oversaw the final round of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup in Jeddah, after his surprise departure from the FIA as Formula 1’s race director.

Wittich had served as an F1 race director since 2022, initially on a part-time basis alternating with Edoardo Freitas, following the departure of Michael Masi in acrimonious fashion following the contentious 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

But in a development that Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc said “came out a bit of nowhere” and world champion Max Verstappen remarked “is a bit weird with three races to go”, the FIA announced Wittich’s departure ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix without giving an explanation.

It is widely believed that Wittich was dropped at the behest of FIA president Mohamed Ben Sulayem, with F2 race director Rui Marques appointed in his place for the final three F1 races of 2024.

Autosport understands that it was the first time Wittich had worked with series promoter the Stephane Ratel Organisation in the role typically fulfilled by Alain Adam.

An SRO spokesperson explained that the German was sought out for his previous experience of Jeddah, since he became unexpectedly available following the Brazilian Grand Prix, as the championship made its first visit to the Corniche Circuit which has hosted F1’s Saudi Arabian GP since 2021.

Maro Engel, Lucas Auer and Daniel Morad claimed victory aboard their Winward Mercedes-AMG GT3 in Saturday’s six-hour Jeddah race, which brought down the curtain on the GTWCE series for GT3 cars. This features many of the leading lights from the World Endurance Championship’s Hypercar class and has the Spa 24 Hours as its most prestigious event.

The result also sealed the overall GT World Challenge Europe crown for Sprint Cup champions Engel and Auer, who headed the Grasser Racing Lamborghini of Franck Perera, Jordan Pepper and Marco Mapelli by 7.971s at the flag.

Third place in the AF Corse-run Ferrari 296 GT3 they shared with Davide Rigon was enough for Alessandro Pier Guidi and Alessio Rovera to claim the Endurance Cup title over the aforementioned Lamborghini trio, going some way to making up for the disappointment of losing the Spa 24 Hours when a broken down car blocked Pier Guidi’s entry to the pits in the closing stages.