Wittich: It [firing] all came as a complete surprise

Wittich was drafted to replace Michael Masi in the aftermath of the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Safety Car controversy and held the position of the race director jointly with Eduardo Freitas before the latter was out of the picture and Wittich took over the role on his own.

However, in November of 2024, Wittich was removed from his role as race director, a decision that came out of the blue, surprising everyone within the F1 paddock and outside of it as well.

The FIA, at the time, did not provide any explanation for the decision to fire Wittich, and it seems the man himself was not given any reason as well.

Speaking to Sky Sports Germany, Wittich insisted "no one has been able to give him an answer" regarding the decision to remove him from his role, adding it was "just as surprising" to him as it was to onlookers.

"I saw no indications that anything wasn’t working or that there was any reason to make a personnel change. So, in that sense, it all came as a complete surprise. To this day," Wittich added.

The former F1 official was quizzed whether he sought any explanation from the FIA; he revealed: "I did, in fact. But no one could give me an answer.

"To this day, no reason has been given to me. And the last time I spoke with the FIA president [Mohammed Ben Sulayem] was last year in China. So I can’t say that we had any kind of falling out or a negative relationship. I had relatively little contact with him," he explained.

Reflecting on his time officiating F1 races, Wittich said: "It was an incredible pleasure to work with such a fantastic team and to oversee such an amazing series.

"Well, Formula 1 can be quite fast-moving when it comes to personnel, whether on the team side or among officials. I just have to accept it for what it is," he concluded.

The firing of Wittich caused a stir within the F1 community, with drivers and team bosses all expressing their surprise and even dismay with the decision, pointing the finger at Ben Sulayem.

Wittich has since been replaced by Rui Marquez.