How Formula 1 expert Ralf Schumacher assesses the sacking of race director Niels Wittich and what it says about FIA president Mohammed bin Sulayem
Ralf Schumacher is “absolutely surprised” by the sudden change of race director in Formula 1, as he explains in an interview with the YouTube channel of Formel1.de. The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) is losing a “really super-capable race director” in Wittich, who has always made good decisions. “All of them were well-founded,” says Schumacher. “That’s why it’s very surprising.”
On the other hand, ‘nothing surprises me at the FIA anymore, especially under the [current] FIA president,’ Schumacher continues. Because Mohammed bin Sulayem does things quite differently than his predecessors Jean Todt or Max Mosley. Specifically, Bin Sulayem ‘wants to have a say in some form in all areas,’ says Schumacher.
And that is probably what happened in this case. Schumacher suspects that bin Sulayem has “different ideas” about the role of race director, “but Niels Wittich probably wanted to maintain his independence as race director. And obviously they did not see eye to eye. Bin Sulayem was obviously more powerful and then settled it that way.”
Schumacher emphasizes that such a thing has “not yet been confirmed, but most rumors are somehow not without reason.” However, he can well imagine such a scenario, after all, FIA President bin Sulayem “has often attracted attention through not always positive appearances,” for example at the Formula 1 award ceremony or “in dealing with the drivers on the subject of etiquette [and] language rules”.
“You see him often. He also likes to give trophies to the drivers. That’s great. But it would be a shame if [bin Sulayem] were to sideline such a capable man [like Wittich] now for some reason,” says Schumacher.
How bin Sulayem comes across to outsiders
For him, however, this latest episode fits perfectly with the impression he has gained so far of bin Sulayem at the helm of the world governing body. And when asked directly whether bin Sulayem is a good FIA president, Schumacher answers simply and directly: “No.”
Reason: “I believe a good FIA president uses his influence to improve the situation for the FIA and for the drivers. I believe that here it is a constant struggle for more power in Formula 1.” He also said that the FIA and Formula 1 owner Liberty Media are “a bit concerned with reputation”.
“You get the feeling that Bin Sulayem is not happy with his position,” says Schumacher. Earlier FIA presidents had appeared more confident on this point: “I was a very big fan of Max Mosley, who, in my opinion, managed the affairs of the FIA quite differently.”
In many respects, Bin Sulayem is less diplomatic than Mosley, who was known for his firm but level-headed approach. Bin Sulayem, the new regulations were recently published via the press without first seeking to talk to those directly involved – the Formula 1 drivers. The reactions in the paddock were correspondingly negative.
So has bin Sulayem overshot the mark in some respects? According to Schumacher, the FIA president has at least behaved awkwardly in some cases.
Ban on body piercing: Not a bad idea from bin Sulayem
Sometimes, however, bin Sulayem was right to push for change. Schumacher refers to “the issue of piercings” and how the FIA insisted on compliance with the relevant rules, which had hardly been enforced before.
“The problem is that the top stars also bear responsibility for the junior classes,” says Schumacher. ”When a Formula 4 or Formula 3 driver or a young kart driver sees his idol Lewis Hamilton with piercings, he should be allowed to have them all. But of course there are reasons why they should be removed. Risk of fire, risk of injury, and so on.”
Bin Sulayem wanted to set an example, according to Schumacher. “At the beginning, that was very important to him. But at some point, the pressure was probably so great that he said, ‘okay, it’s not my health, not my skin’. But still: the effect on the next generation, on the other motorsport classes, I think that was more of a problem.”
