'Hard but fair': former F1 race director praises departed Red Bull executive

13:05, 17 Jul

Updated: 13:07, 17 Jul

byLudo van Denderen

Former Formula 1 race director Niels Wittich has also observed how Red Bull Racing has been impacted by a significant loss of staff. According to the German, the departure of one of their ‘top people’ has hit the Austrian team hard.

Following Christian Horner’s recent exit from Red Bull, Niels Wittich—who was once dismissed by the FIA himself—believes the team deeply feels the absence of Jonathan Wheatley.

Wheatley, the former sporting director, is now the team principal at Sauber. Wittich had frequent contact with the Brit during his tenure as race director.

“He did his job excellently,” Wittich's said via the Boxengasse podcast. “He represented his team as well as he could, and of course, I did not always agree with him, but that's part of it.''

''He doesn't have to agree with me. He just needs to make sure he gets the maximum out for the team. So yes, [he is] hard, but fair.”

Niels Wittich praises Jonathan Wheatley

Wheatley was one of the 'top people'

According to Wittich, there were moments when Wheatley and he clashed, as the German finds this completely understandable: “Of course, everyone is always looking for someone to blame [when things go wrong].''

''It's the same elsewhere in sports: if you blame the coach or the referee, there's always a moment when you have a few discussions.”

Nevertheless, Wittich spoke highly about his professional relationship with Wheatley: “We never parted on bad terms. Yes, everyone basically did their job, as it's supposed to be done. And as far as I'm concerned, he was one of the top people [within Red Bull].”