(SpeedTV) Max Mosley may not be clinging to the FIA presidency but simply preparing the ground for the entrance of his preferred successor. That is the claim of the British newspaper Sunday Times, which quoted an unnamed FOTA insider as hinting that former Ferrari boss Jean Todt is indeed the leading candidate. "Mosley wants someone to continue his work. Someone that can be manipulated by him -- and we all know who that is," the team source said. The newspaper said the teams believe Mosley's endorsement of Frenchman Todt explains the new tensions in the wake of last Wednesday's peace accord. FOTA vice-chairman John Howett's comments after Wednesday enraged Mosley and seemed to confirm the view that Todt would be almost as unpopular as FIA president than Mosley himself. The Toyota team president had said: "From the teams' point of view, we would like to see someone who actually is independent, perhaps independent from any of us currently or historically." Todt until recently sat on the FIA's World Motor Sport Council, and now works with the federation as president of the safety technologies organization eSafetyAware. Further evidence of Mosley's link with Todt is that the Frenchman and Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo - Mosley's newest adversary - are rumored to have fallen out as Todt split with Ferrari earlier this year.
Let's see, Michael Schumacher doesn't like LdM, Todt doesn't like LdM. Someday most will understand that LdM was not the savior in this current F1 debacle. He is an ass as big as Mosley, that made this problem last longer than it should. Yet i sure do not see Jean Todt being manipulated by anyone, especially LdM. If true, fitting justice.
LdM may not be a saint but let's not get carried away. He's nowhere near as bad as Mosley. It was Mosley who got things to the point of the manufacturers feeling the need to create their own series. Mosley should have gone long ago. He is a cancer to F1 and the FIA and he needs to be cut out before it's too late.
LdM was not responsible for making this last longer than it should, unless by that you mean that he should have pushed FOTA to cave in to the FIA demands earlier, which you do. But that would be foolish. FOTA had the ultimate hand and they played it well. They got rid of Mosley, they got the governance issue solved and wrested control of F1 away from the FIA and put it in the hands of the F1 commission. MS's and Todt's opinions of LdM are irrelevant and entirely unrelated to this current situation.
Exactly! I've never been a big LDM fan. However, he and FOTA have done some GREAT things for the sport this season. IMO, maybe those who can't see this are blinded by there personal views of LDM.
Another of Max's now daily cries for attention. He proposes Todt because he knows it will cause comment and disagreement among those who unseated him. Best left ignored.
Maybe skullduggery could continue for another season if it happens - LdM revealing exactly WHY Todt got let go?
and remember that Jean Todt was also the actor of the first success of Peugeot at 24 h du Mans as well as in rally. So he is quite a good guy to push for more visibility for F1 and other sports car aspects (I hope to see Ferrari back soon in 24 h du Mans, as well as Mercedes or BMW)
I would love to see Ferrari back racing in the P1 class against Audi. Interesting to see what other teams would think if Todt does become president of the FIA, at least it sounds like the FIA prez won't have as much control as Max has had in the past so maybe it's not such a big deal.
Max does'nt want Todt at all, he's just trying to poison Jean's chances (because he actually thinks Todt could be president) by dragging him down along with him. If he can divide the FOTA members about Todt, then Jean will not stand a chance, and that's what he's really up to.
I really don't see how Todt can be the FIA president. The sport, IMO, needs someone whose from the outside, understands the needs of team, and fans. Not a former Ferrari CEO. There'll be tonnes of controversies, which will only make the sport uglier.
