Liberty Media CEO steps down as report of Niels Wittich ‘sack’ claim made – round-up

Henry Valantine 13 Nov 2024 10:00 PM

Stefano Domenicali, Mohammed Ben Sulayem and Greg Maffei

Mohammed Ben Sulayem pictured with Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei.

Your daily dose of F1 news is here, and just like Tuesday, there was big breaking news to come from the day’s events for you.

We have you covered with everything right here, so let’s get straight into it.

F1 news: Liberty Media CEO to step down

The big story of the day is that Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei will be stepping down from his role at the end of 2024, with chairman John Malone overseeing the role on an interim basis.

Maffei said: “The almost 20 years I have spent at the helm of Liberty Media have been incredibly rewarding, stimulating and endlessly eventful.

“The corporate structure is optimized, and the portfolio companies are in strong positions with talented executive teams in place. While it’s never easy to leave an organization as dynamic as Liberty, I am confident that this is the right time.”

Claim made of Niels Wittich ‘sack’ after he leaves race director role

Niels Wittich departed his role as FIA race director on Tuesday, but a report from Sky Sports claims that rather than leaving of his own accord, he was sacked.

The FIA’s official statement reads, however: “The FIA can confirm that Niels Wittich has stepped down from his position as F1 Race Director to pursue new opportunities.”

Plans outlined for first Lewis Hamilton Ferrari running

PlanetF1.com understands Lewis Hamilton will not be released early from his Mercedes contract to drive in post-season testing for Ferrari, at the agreement of both Hamilton and Mercedes, due to outstanding commitments for farewell work after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur, meanwhile, outlined what he will look to do when Hamilton does arrive in 2025, with Testing of a Previous Car [TPC] running potentially in the offing.

“I’m not sure that he needs tons of hours of acclimatisation,” Vasseur told Motorsport.com.

“He is experienced enough to be quick on the first day, or at least very soon. We’ll have one or two TPC days, plus the test in Bahrain, and that will be enough.”

Martin Brundle reveals ‘most unpleasant time’ from long commentary career

Former F1 driver Martin Brundle revealed the 2021 season was his “most unpleasant time” of commentary, due to the aggression on display between Red Bull and Mercedes all year – which culminated in a dramatic Abu Dhabi conclusion.

“The most unpleasant time I’ve known in all these years of commentating was Abu Dhabi 2021, and 2021 in general, because it became so feisty, so aggressive between Mercedes and Red Bull and Sky kind of got caught up in the middle of that,” Brundle told the Sky F1 podcast.

“We got caught in the crossfire, basically. And each team pretty much felt if you weren’t with them, you had to be against them. And they both felt that. And it was really uncomfortable, actually, that whole phase.

“But friendships remained, and we all moved on.”

Juan Pablo Montoya: Red Bull should sign Carlos Sainz over Franco Colapinto

While Red Bull are understood to be in talks with Williams over bringing Franco Colapinto into their stable of drivers, Juan Pablo Montoya believes the team should be going after Carlos Sainz instead, despite his long contract with the Grove-based outfit from next year.

“If I were Christian Horner, Red Bull’s team boss,” he said in an interview with W Radio Colombia, “I would go to the Williams motorhome and say to them, ‘Hey, if you guys are happy with Colapinto keep him and leave Sainz to me’.

“Why would you take the risk of replacing an experienced driver like Checo who has won races and with so many years in F1 with a rookie against Max?

“This is the move I would make if I were the boss of Red Bull, I would go for Carlos and not Colapinto.”

Williams Carlos Sainz Lewis Hamilton