Ferrari F1 politics: Todt vs. Montezemolo

We know that the Ferrari management have had some discord recently, and that Todt and Montezemolo have been at odds for a while. Go back to 2005, and it was Luca who pushed to sign Kimi, Todt was against signing him at that time. Go back to 2006, and it was Montezemolo who ordered Schumacher to decide his future by the Monza deadline, leaving Schumacher little choice but to retire (as he saw it, anyway, since Luca wouldn't let him have guaranteed No. 1 status with Kimi as a teammate). Then, Jean Todt was promoted by Montezemolo to head all Ferrari operations, and left as F1 team boss on an interim basis.

Now, rumours are starting that Todt doesn't want to give up the F1 team position, and is fighting Luca in that regard. It's already been published that Ross Brawn wants to return to Ferrari in the Team Manager role that Todt currently holds, and that Todt has said that he is not ready to give that up. However, de Montezemolo has other plans, and may be pushing for the Ferrari board to remove Todt as F1 team manager. There's an interesting analysis in the latest column by the Mole on the GrandPrix.com web site: http://www.grandprix.com/mole/mole19614.html .

Thoughts?

 

This stuff has been happening throughout the entire history of Ferrari, back to the Alfa days. I hate to generalize, but is appears to be integral to the Italian national character.

 

It maybe since MS departed there has been infighting, as we have seen what can happen with disgruntled staff.
The FS ship does look a bit rocky at the min.
But could Ross Brawn now steady it or make it worse, things change fast in this sport..

 

The BusinessF1 magazine continues to report about the big fight going on behind the scenes at Ferrari: A year ago Montezemolo was trying to get Todt fired. That didn't pan out because of the great success the roadcars have under his management. For now the guns stay quiet, but BusinessF1 speculates, that Montezemolo hasn't given up and will try again to get rid of Todt.

A year ago, they clashed over sponsorship: A replacement for Marlboro should have come, but the deal went sour because of the difference of opinion between Montezemolo and Todt. It would be funny, if it wasn't affecting things as much. The whole Stepneygate desaster is just another sign that house keeping is taking a toll.

 

+1


I think if it comes down to Ferrari needing to decide between Todt and Brawn, I would go with Brawn. I can't see this type of infighting happening under his watch.

I think that Ferrari is missing Schumacher for much more than just his driving ability, he really seems to have been the glue that kept that place together.

 

Actually I think the best of both worlds would be Brawn running the F1 team and Todt focusing solely on car production, where he is doing a stellar job.

 

Steve, I think Brawn's return would have a calming effect on the team. But as Ted stated, I think MS was really the glue that kept everything together.

 

That seems to be Brawn's expectation but if reports are to be believed, Todt doesn't want to relinquish stewardship of the F1 operation.

 

IMO Todt needs to step aside. If he doesn't Brawn will certainly go to a different team say, Toyota or Honda where he'll have an open check book and free reign. While either of those teams wouldn't be a threat in the immediate future to Ferrari they certainly would under Brawn's guidance within a couple of years.

 

+1.

+1, which just shows another aspect of Michael Schumacher's remarkable career as a F1 driver.

 

Very good point. I don't think Brawn would want to come back to Ferrari in the same role that he left. He deserves the promotion and hopefully Todt will realize that he's had a hell of a run as the principal and now decide to take a load off of his schedule to just run the production car line in Maranello. He can be just like Schumi for the first year of his F1 retirement if he really can't stay away from the tracks.

 

Then you must be a poor judge of character.

 

From my experience with them around the world, I think that's not too far off.

 

Don't forget - Todd dates Asian actress - she likes to go to the races. Probably in private jet and surrounded by other celebrities.

Do you think she will be exited going to assembly line on the factory ?

 

Nice racial profiling! Especially as we are talking about 1 Italian, 1 Frenchman and 1 Englishman (plus 1 German, if we include MS).

 

Wow, Italians are a race now too?

Here I was thinking it was things like black, white, asian, hispanic, etc... come to find out Italians are a race too! I am sooooo dumb!

 

You forgot the Asian woman! We have the makings of a great joke here... Throw in an Irishman (Eddie Jordan) and an Australian (Paul Stoddart), and it could turn into a movie!

 

Maybe should have said ethnic profiling, cultural profiling or racism. We're not that familiar with term "racial profiling" as it's not engrained in our culture as it is in some other parts of the globe. I just didn't realize we had anthropology or sociology professors scouring this thread looking for errors, and completely missing the point of my post.

 

hahah, wow...

 

i'd go for brawn i think. look at Ferrari this year. cocking up like no one's business.

 

bleh! i can't stand the look on her face in the pit garage, staring at the monitor like she knows what the bloody hell is going on.

 

Ever heard the expression "Italian ape" in regards to Ferraris?

Sorry, not being judgemental here, just passing along another bad joke.

 

Next time we go karting I'll bring along some swiss jokes

 

There aren't any. They're all truths.

 

LOL ! and that's why I enjoy karting with you guys.