Norris jumps to defend Wittich: 'People don't realise that'

Lando Norris speaks about Niels Wittich's departure from his job as Race Director. He thinks that people do not realise how tough the job is.

Wittich began as Formula 1's Race Director in 2022. His last trace in that position was the Brazilian Grand Prix, as the FIA announced shortly after that he would be vacating the role. Later on, Wittich said himself that he would not have left the job on his own.

Norris stood up for Wittich while in Las Vegas: "Their work is hard. I don't think people realise how tough it is. As drivers, half the time, we make everyone's life miserable. This is probably one of the hardest sports in the world to make judgements in. It's a sport where so many things can happen. You want rules, but you also want there to be no rules. That makes it very difficult."

Norris continued by saying, "There will always be people who agree and disagree with decisions. I just think it's a difficult position. I don't know what happens. It's not running as smoothly as we would like. But in such a big sport, as in other sports, you have a set team that manages things, that has to be consistent. That's all I know."

In conclusion, the McLaren driver mentioned "That [consistency] is what we ask for as drivers. But we also recognise that it is a difficult position. To make yourself available for that role at all, you need a bit of guts because, at some point, you will get whining from all sides. You have to be willing to accept that. I don't think that's easy for everyone."

This article was translated by Savannah Lenz