Niels Wittich , who has done the job for the first five races of the 2022 season, will take over from the FIA race director debut at the Spanish Grand Prix.
This is Eduardo Freitas , who will also play this role for the next weekend’s appointment in Monaco, before focusing on the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where he is also the race director, since it coincides with the Formula 1 test. 1 in Azerbaijan.
After the dismissal of Michael Masi, the international federation decided that Freitas and Wittich would alternate the positions of director and deputy director of the Great Circus events, with an informal plan in which they would do two races yes and two no respectively.
However, the calendar is compromised due to the fact that Portuguese has the same functions in the WEC, and he missed the opening race in Bahrain and the last test in Miami.
On both occasions, FIA veteran Colin Haywood acted as Wittich’s replacement, and while the world’s highest motor racing body has wanted to brand its two directors as interchangeable, it doesn’t matter who holds the main job at a given weekend. given week.
Wittich has shown his personality in early testing, taking a no-nonsense, uncompromising approach. His message that the rules are black and white are there to be followed, something that has been appreciated by both drivers and teams, as they know what to expect.
“From my point of view, the new setup with Niels [Wittich] and also with Eduardo [Freitas] has made a very good start in this new era of Formula 1,” McLaren team boss Andreas Seidl said.
“Niels is pretty forthright in terms of making sure they follow the rules, he’s clear about conveying what he expects, and that’s what I personally like. And at the same time, he’s always available for dialogue and constructive input, if you think that’s right.” things have to be reconsidered,” he continued.
“From this point of view, when I look now at how these first few races have gone, I think we are in a good place,” said the Woking-based team boss.
However, there have been some points of contention, and that is that at last Friday’s team principals meeting in Miami, Wittich had to be convinced by those present that he had misinterpreted the rules regarding the use of DRS during qualifying in Imola.
He has also often shown that he prefers to use a virtual safety car over the normal one, as was the case in the last race after Lando Norris collided with Pierre Gasly. The German, shortly after, took out the Safety Car when he saw so many debris on the track, but he did not dare at first.
He has also been embroiled in some issues that have left drivers visibly frustrated, most notably his insistence on strictly following the FIA International Sporting Code regarding the ban on non-homologated clothing and piercings.
In theory, Barcelona will be a relatively easy place for Freitas to start his journey, without the obvious challenges associated with the new Miami race, although Monaco will be a big test, not least because of the logistical challenge involved.
