Todt Steps Down As Ferrari CEO

Autosport - Todt steps down as Ferrari CEO

The old guard really is out!

 

That's too bad. Todt's been there since 1993. He made Ferrari what it is today in F1.

 

This sucks. They would be stupid to let him go completly. At least he'll be on the board.

 

Does this mean we can reopen the thread that was locked.

 

+1 who knows if they have a disastrous F1 season he can always come back. At least the guy is still on the board.

 

It does seem like the reason given is somewhat bogus... "I have achieved all I came here to do, so now I will go".

Was there any truth to the previous rumors as to why he left then?

 

Who knows....but i would imagine those said actions would have ejected him from the company completly. Followed by lawsuits i'm sure.

 

Vasco that is what I was thinking, but Todt and the rest of the guys have done such a great job it just seems that his exit is a bit too low key.

 

...well, techincally he´s not out, he´s a member of the directors board...only now he doesnt have to cope with the burden of being Ferrari CEO...in Italy we say, on top of that, there is Only the President and the Pope!!

 

Wow! Always thought that he'd be the CEO for a while after retiring from F1...


"My commitment to the President had been to manage the company until the end of his mandate as President of Confindustria"

-> Never heard of that before! Sounds a bit like he's making it up...

 

I know what you mean Tony. I'm sure there will be more to this story....and i'm sure we'll hear it here first!

 

Now Ferrari can sign Alonso the next season and keep Massa as his wing man.
Hope no but....
Thanks for all the great years and memories JT.

385 GPs
506 Races
384 Finished
98 wins
250 podiums
341 in the points
85 poles
87 fastest laps
2101 points
7 WCC
6 WDC

 

+1,000!!!!


And I really hope this is the end of Massa at Ferrari. I expect him to sit out his contract in a Toro Rosso starting 2009.

 

If Toro Rosso is even around.

 

Good point. Basically any backmarker team that buys Ferrari engines.

 

Massa could always join his fellow countrymen and Ferrari reject at Honda.

 

In my (admittedly limited at that level) experience, often big wigs who are accused of malfeasance are given the opportunity to make a graceful exit rather than have the individual and the company go through some protracted lengthy battle.

It is odd that Todt is staying on. Maybe they needed to give him a token position to retain his accumulated benefits or something? Taking those away may have triggered a suit from Todt's side. It's perhaps the old "promote the problem away" thing, send him packing but make out like he did so well he was promoted. Win/win - Todt is still out, he saves face as does Ferrari SpA and we're all left wondering about the truth

 

I never want to see Alonso at Ferrari. In my mind he is full of himself, in my mind. I would give Sebastian Vettel a seat at Ferrari, young and fast.

 

SRT_Mike, that has also crossed my mind.

 

I'm glad the Scuderia never checked on that when they hired Schumacher.

 

Well, nothing lasts forever. Even Enzo Ferrari had to die some day.

 

I'm glad the Scuderia never checked for skill when they hired Massa, wait no I'm not.

 

+1 Come on Alonso.

 

It appears Todt was certainly forced out. IMO he and Luca were butting heads and if there was some impropriety this was all it took for Luca to shuffle him around. With the knowledge that Todt has it's probably better to keep him on the payroll until he decides to move on and doesn't present a conflict. If we see him leave on his own in a short while then it would suggest that the guy was essentially fired with the "closed thread" possibly having something to do with it.

 

Very good points Scott, although his vast knowledge would do wonders at Toyota or a Big Manufacturer (VW/Audi) buying Toro Rosso. I never knew why he was running the Road Car division when you had a talent like Amedo Felisa who really was behind the improvement in the Road Cars.