FIA poised for Ultimate Rally Race…for office
July 15, 2009 by Negative Camber
Filed under Top Story
It seems Ari Vatanen has received an endorsement from McLaren’s Martin Whitmarsh while Jean Todt was been specifically named by Max Mosley as a worthy successor as the next FIA president as Mosely si standing down in October.
This is shaping up to be another interesting race and as Jean Todt and Ari Vatanen are two ex-rally drivers and have battled in the past in the Dakar-Paris rally, this may be the ultimate battle for the grandest of prizes.
Ari is a fresh approach and new face to the FIA. He has racing pedigree and political nuance as a politician. Jean Todt also has racing pedigree and while not a politician (arguably as being in F1 demands that you be) he does have manufacturer experience as Mosley points out in his letter. So who is the right man for the job? Will these two engage in their final race against each other? Two ex-rally drivers looking for the finish line and trophy?
Is Mosley’s endorsement, irrespective of the 100 letters of support, a death knell for Todt? Is Vatanen’s lack of manufacturer or F1 experience a show stopper in his bid for election?
My opinion? I think Todt is a shill for Mosley and Mosley will still want a board position and some involvement. There; I said it. I know as a Ferrari fan I may get hate mail but Todt was the one who clung to the Mosley support wagon last year and did all the right things to support him. To two are close and Todt is currently working with the FIA.
Similar, perhaps, to why I am not excited about Manor GP being entered in F1 for 2010; Todt’s appointment could be viewed as just a puppet for Mosley’s marionette skills. Todt has been a staunch supporter of Mosley’s and would be his lifeline to remaining quietly involved. Similar rumors have Mosley tied to Manor for reasons of peeking behind the FOTA veil. All rumors of course but in my mind, this is defecating too close to the house.
Vatanen 2010!!
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I too would prefer Vatanen, I have nothing against Todt, but I think that after the hideousness of the Max & Bernie show we really need a clean break with the past, and sadly Todt doesn’t offer that.
Kind of my point as well Andrew. I think just Max’s endorsement taints the issue. Just my hunch. I think people are ready for an all new look to F1. FOTA is certainly trying to deliver it.
I think in order for the teams to have any support for Todt, he’s going to have to prove he wont just be a continuation of Max’s rule! Unfortunately I don’t see quite how he could do this… but then again if Max had as much support as he claims, it could well be that those with the votes will vote for Todt anyway simply because he would be a continuation of Max!
To that point JC, there also has to be some animosity from the politics of F1 with certain teams that Todt may have offended or skirted. There is history there and I am not sure that is easy to erase. I can’t imagine that Ron Dennis would feel Todt would be an unbiased person although the way he left Ferrari; I can’t imagine Luca feeling that way either.
good point JC.
I’m sure NC will post up about this, but it appears that with Todt’s latest official announcement he leaves no question where he stands in terms of being “a continuation of Max…” Apparently, he thinks Max has done an excellent job and has gone as far as to say:
“It is my intention to continue and expand the outstanding work of President Mosley, who for 16 years has worked tirelessly to strengthen the FIA’s major motor sport championships and to position the FIA as the voice of the motoring public, actively promoting safe, clean and affordable mobility for all.”
I’m sorry but didn’t Todt preside over the true start of the hyper budget Ferrari era? Not sure if he should really go on to talk about affordable motoring when he didn’t exactly put the spending brakes on did he?
I’m a Ferrari fan (if it’s not already known by now.)
With that said, I do not want Todt to win the FIA presidency. It doesn’t have anything to do with him “continuing” Max’s work. It’s more about the fact that he is a hard headed guy and I don’t really remember the last time he agreed to a compromise good for everybody around him. Recall the USGP Tiregate. In my opinion, as good as he was for Ferrari, he is a polarizing figure. The FIA does not need somebody like that again, after Max.
However, to touch on the comments quoted above, recall that the FIA is not just about motor racing. They are more about civilian road safety making rules and all that stuff.
So the new FIA president must be able to work on these things as well, which I think are more important that racing.
If we’re asking who, between Todt and Vatanen, is better capable of running FIA, on paper Todt is the man to take the post. As Mad Max rightly asserts, Todt has the proven experience and competency in leadership this role requires. He has:
1) the motorsports background/pedigree to understand the sporting issues FIA will have to deal with (so does Vatanen, granted)
2) the leadership experience and track record of running fairly large organisations–and doing this successfully and
3) he has had first-hand exposure to the issues the FIA has dealt with in the past (e.g. motorsport governance, road safety, etc.).
Yes, his association with Scuderia Ferrari (and Mosely) definitely leaves a bitter taste in the mouths of many–me included–as I feel that he was a bit too zealous at times (Spygate in ‘07, the bastard). However I wonder if this wasn’t out of his desire to fulfill his role with vigour, as opposed to a more personal motivation… If it’s the former, then maybe this isn’t such a bad thing for the FIA *and us* to have. Why? Because I believe that FOTA is just as capable of doing huge damage as Mosely was, and this is no good for the sport, either. FIA need a strong, level-headed, politically-astute leader to govern, negotiate and, where necessary, to push back.
FOTA say they’re for the fans right now, but I think a lot of it is a matter of the manufacturers leveraging our frustration to gain support, which at the moment carries a lot of political and even economic weight. But let’s not forget what these *businesses’* ultimate motivations are…
Of course, we have to wait and see who else throws their hat into the ring, but my feeling is that Vatanen, as good a guy as he is, and despite his motorsport and political experience, may not be a complete enough package to govern this complex organisation–and its complex situations–as effectively.
I anticipate the ‘are you mad/naiive’ responses–with vigour.
Max…is that you?
ahahaaha
:)) good one SR
Greg, if I were convinced that Todt would be his own man in office, I think I’d be cheering his corner, too.
I had also heard good things about Vatanen and his work in Brussels – a place *nearly* as complex, in terms of both organizations and structures, as the FIA is.
Then again, if Max is supporting Todt and some of his FIA cronies toe the line, then Vatanen has got a mountain to climb anyway.
“if I were convinced that Todt would be his own man in office, I think I’d be cheering his corner, too”
And that’s the thing: I’m not saying I don’t see his obviously close association with Mad Max, and I’m not saying I don’t like what FOTA is doing right now (a big part of me was really hoping for a breakaway series). I am saying that, given the sheer diversity and scale of the role of FIA president, and the fact that Todt seems to have all the bases covered compared to Vatanen, he would seem to be the best out of the two for this role.
Mosely is a man who’s been cracking at his foundations for some time on a personal level, and Todt isn’t in that sort of place. Todt is aligned in his thinking with Mosely in some ways, but he’s also an ex-racer, and ex-manufacturer and a sensible businessman so I don’t think he’d operate with Max’s degree of ignorant and heavy-handed approach to complex issues (KERS dev and cost cuts in the same breath, telling teams to downsize from £300m to £40m between seasons, etc.) and I actually don’t think he will be the puppet many are saying he will be.
In any case, I’m sure other candidates will come forward soon, and maybe Vatanen will sway me in this discussion over time?
Your pal,
Max ;-)
What has always bothered me is that Mosley’s title was/is the President of FIA. I could be wrong but it seems to me that the President of the FIA should be more focused on the day to day operation of the FIA as a whole and not the CZAR of F1. I know that when we think of the FIA we mostly think of “the governing body of F1″ and F1 is very important to the day to day operation of the FIA. But with so many other things that the FIA is involved in it seems odd to me that that the president of the entire organization be so focused on on aspect.
But in retrospect if I were a team owner in another FIA series I would probably be happy that he is so preoccupied.
Good point BJ. I took exception with Max using an official letter from the FIA to actually endorse his friend. Very unprofessional. That should have been a personal letter to the board.
Can any one tell me of an English ‘Site’ where I can post my support for Ari as the next FIA Presidend?
You just did mate. ;)