One interesting point Todt spoke about was the possibility of re-introducing the 107% qualifying rule. This procedure was last introduced in 1996 as a way to weed out some of the sport’s lesser-funded and therefore under-performing teams and drivers. Essentially, the 107% rule dictates that any driver failing to qualify within 107% of the pole-sitter’s fastest lap would be excluded from participating in the race. Back in 1996, Forti often found themselves on the wrong side of the timing sheet.

The rule was scraped in 2003 as the qualifying process changed to a one-lap system and fewer teams were competing, meaning the limit of 20 cars each race implied most drivers attempting to take part should. For 2010 though, the sport sees more teams participating and if the first free practice sessions at Bahrain are anything to go by, some of these new squads are considerably off the pace of the front-runners.

Jean Todt has stated he is in favour of re-introducing the rule, although admits that if it is appended to the regulations, it won’t likely happen until 2011. In order to get the 107% rule in, the FIA would need unanimous agreement from all the teams, and that simply isn’t going to happen because Virgin Racing, Lotus and Hispania would have to block the move on a just in case reasoning.

We are very in favour of reintroducing the 107 percent limit. The reason why it was abandoned was because of the change in qualifying which was happening with fuel to start the race in the car.

Now to change that for 2010 you need to have the unanimous agreement of the teams, and to get the unanimous agreement of the teams the FIA will be supporting this solution.

I don’t think it will happen so we have to wait until 2011 to introduce it. Jean Todt.

Despite seemingly wanting to curb non-achievers in Formula One though, Todt was supportive of the new teams and offered his praise and support.

You must have respect for a new team who is arriving in this particular economic crisis period and to invest money to be in F1. I don’t think it is a time to criticise but to support and help, and to help them, and it is in the interests of everybody.

Everybody in the business should be supportive of these days. I was impressed today, they did quite well and we must give them a certain time to be ready. Jean Todt.

Looking at Nico Rosberg’s fastest lap of 1m55.409s in the second free practice this afternoon in Bahrain, 107% of this would be 2m03.488s. If this had been qualifying and the 107% rule had been in force, Hispania drivers Bruno Senna and Karun Chandhok would undoubtedly be in trouble, while the Virgin Racing duo would be cutting it close.

Original article by BlogF1.

Jean Todt In Favour Of 107% Qualifying Rule

Ari Vatanen had been a favourite among motor sport fans, the former rally driver promising to shake-up the FIA and make the organisation more transparent. However, Todt had received the backing of the outgoing president and was even said to have been a good candidate for Mosley succession way back in 2005.

The election, held at the FIA’s headquarters in Paris, was supervised by an external Huissier de Justice, the French state-appointed public witness. There were 12 abstentions or invalid votes and Todt’s victory was a comfortable one.

The news of Vatanen’s defeat will undoubtedly cause many fans of motor sport to be upset, many feeling that Todt is unsuitable for the role given his public support from Mosley and his former ties with Ferrari. The FIA has been accused in the past of favouring Ferrari and Bernie Ecclestone even admitted that the Scuderia receive benefits (both monetary and in the deciding of new rules). Although Todt has long been resigned from his post of team principal at Ferrari and recently resigned from the company entirely, many will still feel uncomfortable at his appointment.

Despite claims that Todt may fail to shake-up the FIA and will merely continue in the vein of his predecessor, the Frenchman does have a lot of experience in motor sport, primarily Formula One and World Rally. It was Todt who helped rejuvenate Ferrari into a dominant force that won many titles in the late ’90s and early ’00s, and his management style has received considerable praise. The Ferrari company was named by the Financial Times as the best company in Italy to work for in terms of employee satisfaction in 2008.

While many of us fans may have been hoping for a more radical change at Place de la Concorde, we should allow Todt some time to settle in to his new role before making judgments. The president of the FIA does not just deal with motor sport and much of the organisation’s aim is to improve motoring for the general public the world over. Of course, Formula One is at the forefront of their operations though, the international sport garnering much of the headlines that involve the FIA.

We shall have to wait and see how Todt deals with the pressures of being the president, but despite trying to offer the man a chance, I feel the Internet-at-large is about to get a little crazy. But before we all get hysterical, let us remember one very important rule that has just come into force: the president of the FIA may now only preside for two terms at the very most. Something I’m sure we will all agree on as being a very good idea.

Original article by BlogF1.

Jean Todt Comfortably Wins FIA Presidency Election

Mosley is well within his right to support a future presidential candidate, but the FIA cannot be seen to be fully backing one candidate over another until the time comes to vote. The voting system should be private as well, just as it is with other political elections that many of us are familiar with.

Mosley stated that he felt Todt would be the best person to replace him, and it wasn’t the first time Max has spoken highly of the French rally, Formula One team and car manufacturer head. Vatanen, a former rally driver himself, retaliated with concerns that Jean Todt represents an older era, and that he himself would bring a new freshness to the role of president.

But it’s not good that a leader stays in the post for a long time, and when that happens, the best thing is a change. And I represent that change, a new era with more freshness.

On the contrary, Jean Todt represents the old era, and it’s not right that Max wants to impose a new leader, and that he uses the power of the federation to support his campaign. The FIA is not a kingdom; it’s a republic where the leaders are chosen democratically.

At Ferrari they don’t want Todt to be president, and so they have told me, because they think they sport would lose credibility. The same would happen if it was Ross Brawn or Flavio Briatore running. The president of the FIA must be someone neutral. Ari Vatanen.

It is the second paragraph that has annoyed the FIA Foundation, with Vatanen using the phrase ‘using the power of the federation to support Todt’s campaign’. Furthermore, Vatanen also claimed that the FIA were paying for a private jet for Todt to allow him in the running of his campaign. Ari wrote:

At the expense of the FIA Foundation, Jean goes with a private plane with his girlfriend, supposedly as a FIA representative, to various parts of the world, sometimes he has gone to Asia, sometimes to Canada, sometimes to Buenos Aires, whatever. In fact, he is doing a campaign totally supported and paid by the FIA. Ari Vatanen.

In a response letter written by the Chairman of the FIA Foundation to Ari Vatanen, Carlos Macaya refutes the suggestion of the FIA funding Todt’s campaign, and explained that the travel expenses Ari may be alluring to actually apply to Todt’s partner, Michelle Yeoh.

These assertions are totally false. For the last two years Jean Todt’s partner, the internationally acclaimed actress Michelle Yeoh, has served in a voluntary capacity as the global Ambassador for the Make Roads Safe campaign which is co-ordinated by the FIA Foundation. In this role Michelle has travelled all over the world to support the campaign especially in advance of this year’s first ever global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety to be held in Moscow on November 19-20. [...]

These activities have nothing whatsoever to do with the FIA, or the recently announced election. It is very disappointing that you have chosen to misrepresent the work of a fellow Trustee in this way and belittle the magnificent contribution being made by Michelle Yeoh. [...]

I appreciate that during the forthcoming election for the FIA Presidency there needs to be open and robust debate. However, I would ask that you do not again misrepresent the role of the FIA Foundation in this way. Carlos Macaya.

Macaya also explained that recently, while Michelle Yeoh was travelling to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania for an FIA function, Jean Todt tagged along as he was attending a workshop in the same city helping to promote intelligent vehicle safety systems in his role as the eSafety Aware president.

It would appear that no further sanction will come of Vatanen’s claims and Macaya’s response, and perhaps the former world rally champion was wrong in his accusation. However, it is interesting that Ari has raised the topic, as conspiracy theorists around the world concoct reasons as to why they feel the FIA are still pro-Ferrari and manage their affairs in a deeply private and suspicious manner.

Of course, Todt was the head of Ferrari’s Formula One operation for many years, praised with rejuvenating the team into world champions once again. But in late 2006, Todt resigned this role and took up the position of CEO for the whole company, dealing with the road car division as well. In 2008, Todt resigned this role, although he was still involved with the Maranello company until July 2009, when he completely resigned in order to focus on his campaign to become the next president of the FIA.

Should Jean Todt defeat Ari Vatanen in the election later this year, there will be cries of corruption the world over. Whether correct or not is almost irrelevant as some fans of the sports that the FIA govern, Formula One included, will still feel that the FIA are not 100% straight up, as they say.

So, to the perhaps slightly more thoughtful fans who I know this site attracts, but additionally also pleasing because I know the passion of motor sport runs deep with all… who do you want to see as the next president of the FIA? I can imagine what the answer is already, but before you comment, think for just a moment about the successes Todt and Vatanen have achieved over the years, and how you think they may run the organisation that still controls the sport we all love.

Original article by BlogF1.

Ari Vatanen Already In Hot Water With The FIA Foundation

Grandprix.com have an article up today suggesting a similar theory – apparently it’s doing the rounds in the Japanese paddock at the moment. They are suggesting that Jean Todt will resign from Ferrari altogether at the end of the month and take up a new role in the FIA soon after. Combined with the recent announcement that Marco Piccinini will stand down as the Deputy President in November, certain puzzle pieces seem to be falling a certain way.

However, there are many cats who could stir the pigeons, most notable of which is Mosley himself. Last year, Max had said that he intended to step down as president at the end of his term, but after everything that happened in April and May, it seems the ageing Briton has a new spring in his step and Mosley recently suggested he isn’t absolutely certain of what will happen in 2009. If Max were to stay though (and of course only at the urge of all these nameless people who write to him all the time), then it will likely be another four years before any change will happen. However, if Max were to be organising a way for him to get what he wants, then I can see Mosley stepping aside into a newly created position of power in the background.

Of course, the president is elected by the member organisations, but if only one man stands, and Mosley decides he doesn’t want to continue, then the vote is worthless. And currently, it seems to only be Todt who is being suggested as a possible successor. I had mooted a few other names previously, and Piccinini was one that kept constant in my mind. But with the Italian out of the picture and all others seemingly not bothering to show their hand, Mosley may be about to get his way. After all, Max has already offered his support to Todt should he wish to stand.

However, if Jean Todt were to become the next president of the FIA, then there will be an outcry from fans. Clearly the Frenchman has kept himself away from the media, toiling away in the background of the Ferrari company, but he will always be known as the man who helped orchestrate the rise in dominance of the Scuderia in the mid-nineties. And with Mosley himself feeling the need to defend the rumours that the FIA are biased towards the very same company, I can see the fans and team owners getting seriously annoyed.

Original article by BlogF1.

Is Jean Todt Preparing Himself For FIA Presidency?

The article essentially uses one piece of evidence for its arguement, but to be fair, it is quite a compelling piece of evidence; it comes from the words written by FIA themselves. The Federation has statutes by which it must comply – these are a list of rules and they are published on their website to the public domain. Here’s the part that Sylt and his team noted, and then questioned.

The World Motor Sport Council shall consist of :

• the President of the FIA;
• the Deputy President;
• the 7 Vice-Presidents;
• the 17 Members;

a total of 26 Members who, with the exception of the President of the FIA, must represent an ASN having at least one event entered on the International Sporting Calendar of the current year, of whom 21, with the exception of the President, the Deputy President and the 3 Members by right, shall be of different nationalities. FIA Statutes, Article 14.

ASN stands for Association Sportif Nationale; the national association of motor sport. So, which national bodies do you think Ecclestone and Todt are in charge of? They’re not, and for Bernie it would be a conflict of interest if he were as he often negiotiates with these associations when he deals with the grands prix. And this is why Pitpass feel the decision made on 13th September, 2007, and also other decisions that have been recently made by the WMSC, are void.

Whether or not their story will be noticed or dealt with is another matter, but what it does show is that the FIA are not squeaky-clean as they might want us to believe. To be fair, Formula One fans have known that for a long time, and the recent saga to embroil the Federation (specifically, its president) only further highlights that. It would seem silly to suggest that the FIA did not know their own rules, it would be even sillier to suggest, as Pitpass do, that the FIA may have made a typo. It seems perfectly reasonable, to me at least, that the FIA wanted Ecclestone and Todt on the council, and to them, rules are there to be broken.

Isn’t it is about time the FIA were fined $100m for bringing the sport into disrepute?

Original article by BlogF1.

Should The FIA Be Allowed To Break Their Own Rules?

Jean Todt

Formerly the team boss of Ferrari, Jean Todt orchestrated the Scuderia’s revival through a variety of bold moves in the mid-nineties that ultimately led to seven constructors titles between 1999 and 2007. Now taking a step back from the pitwall, Jean has handed his mantle to long-term Ferrari employee Stefano Domenicali, and Todt is now in the senior executive position for the whole company.

Jean has been involved in motor sport for most of his life and in 1984 took up his first management role, running Peugeot’s in the World Rally Championship. As success came Todt’s way the Frenchman soon became frustrated with Peugeot when they refused to enter F1 and eventually switched allegiances to Ferrari. Todt’s successful management of the Scuderia has led to many questions regarding his future, and in 2004 towards the end of Mosley’s third term, it was expected for Jean to run against Max. However, Mosley was left unchallenged and Jean was soon promoted to Ferrari’s CEO before stepping down as team principal. While the media was hyping up the possibility of Todt running against Mosley in 2005, the Briton stated that Jean would make an excellent president, suggesting that if Max could have his way he would choose Todt.

Jean probably would make an ideal president for the FIA, having gained management experience at Peugeot and Ferrari and generally seen as a hard but ultimately fair principal. Ferrari were recently named as the best company to work for in Italy, with reports saying that employees at Maranello feel welcome to voice ideas, concerns and thoughts in an open and receptive manner. Combine this with the Frenchman’s ability to understand motor sport politics inside-out as well as an understanding of road cars and associated issues that concern the FIA, Todt is probably the most qualified of people listed in this post to succeed Mosley.

Paul Stoddart

Perhaps not an obvious choice given the Australians out-spoking criticism of the FIA’s handling of Formula One, but Paul is in with a chance due to his political stance and gaining experience in motor sport. Sponsoring and running teams in various formulae, Paul and his company European Aviation enjoyed fair success in the mid-to-late nineties. And in 2001 his dream was realised when he purchased the Minardi F1 team from its founder Giancarlo Minardi. With a strong passion for the sport he kept Italy’s second squad going until late-2005 when he reluctantly sold out to Red Bull

During his tenure at Faenza, Paul stood firmly against many other team bosses who said that Minardi shouldn’t be competing if they couldn’t really afford to. Stoddart has battled with Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone and his determination and seemingly unmoving morals deserve admiration. One example of Paul’s sporting code came about when the teams long term technical director John Walton passed away on the evening before the 2004 British Grand Prix. Stoddart ran his cars without sponsor logos for the race which ultimately led to the teams title partner withdrawing their funding, stating they would have liked to have at least been informed about the move. But while having a clean conscience isn’t necessarily a pre-requisite for the presidential role, it shows that Paul can be fair and would likely listen to his advisers, team bosses and fans to ultimately make right decisions for the sport.

However, Stoddart will have to want the role, and currently the former Minardi boss is busy continuing the Italian name in America as well as running his portfolio of businesses, notably European Aviation that reclaim, repair and sell aircraft parts to the aviation industry, as well as running a VIP charter service around the continent and a second airline – OzJet – based in Australia.

Paul has stated in interviews that he thrived on the political battles when he was attempting to keep Minardi in Formula One, and the Australian understands how to run successful organisations. He has charm and charisma as well as passion and dedication, but his dealings with the FIA in the past may count against him if he chooses to stand next year.

Damon Hill

When Damon Hill retired from competitive racing in 1999, the Briton stated that he would be moving away from Formula One, choosing instead to focus his efforts on a variety of businesses he owns and operates. But in 2006, ten years after claiming his only world championship, Hill succeeded Jackie Stewart in becoming the president of the BRDC. The organisation currently owns the Silverstone circuit and are in charge of safe-guarding its future as the venue of the British Grand Prix.

Damon has contacts within the road car industry; as well as running a luxury car club he also owns a successful BMW dealership in Warwickshire. The ‘96 champion has a good core group of people around him and the next logical step from the BRDC is surely the FIA.

Although Hill is perhaps an unusual choice for the FIA presidency, his role in the BRDC leads me to think that he may run in 2009. His announcement to the Drivers Club came as a surprise to many, but it shows Hill has a taste for the political side of motor sport. And despite Bernie Ecclestone’s threats, the British Grand Prix does remain in the calendar for now, suggesting Damon is enjoying reasonable success in his position. Again, it comes down to whether Hill would want to run, but with his other business ventures ticking along smoothly, he clearly has some time on his hands. And although he would have to step down from looking after Silverstone, the call of the greater good may be enough to lure the famous name further up the motor sporting ladder.

Ross Brawn

Like Hill, Ross Brawn is perhaps not the most obvious of choices for the FIA president, but over the last ten-plus years we have seen Ross flourish in Formula One, gaining respect from all quarters of the paddock. Brawn’s fame came from his success at Benetton and Ferrari, but even before working in Formula One, the qualified machinist and engineer worked for Jaguar in their sports car department and has enjoyed working in a variety of roles from technical director to aerodynamicist.

Brawn’s political experience may work against him as he doesn’t have much dealings with this side of the presidential job. Instead, Ross seems to happily blend into the background and let the key decisions be made by others, letting them run the battles while he quietly works away behind the scenes. This lack of authoritative diplomacy may lose him confidence, as well as his previous shenanigans at Benetton and Ferrari which saw the sport being brought into disrepute through the decisions of the team to openly control races.

Also working against Brawn is his loyalty to previous teams. Ross spent a decade at Maranello before moving away, and during this time the rumours of the FIA favouring the Italian team strengthened immeasurably. From Brawn’s point of view, these bias thoughts are solved by him taking the team principal position at Honda. This move, while lucrative for Brawn, could quash any feelings among people that Brawn would be bias towards Ferrari should he become the next president. With ongoing criticism of the body for possibly siding with Scuderia, I imagine the FIA would want to put this behind them and move forward into the next decade with a clean slate. Appointing Ross would naturally draw a lot of skepticism, but by his allegiance to Honda – particularly if they can return to their competitive form – would certainly ease the initial pain.

Having said that, I doubt Brawn would want the role as he seems to prefer to stay behind the pitwall, headphones firmly over ears. This may change in 2008 as his more public role at Honda will require ever more PR pressures, but I struggle to see Brawn in charge of the FIA and enjoying it – a factor that is clearly important to Ross.

Who Is Likely To Succeed Mosley?

Ultimately, it will probably be neither of these people. Perhaps that is for the better as all appear to still be very much involved with their respective teams and organisations. I guess if one person were to receive a unanimous thumbs-up, it would likely be Todt as he is probably the best qualified person for the position, particularly after already receiving encouragement from the current president. Maybe Jean’s move from team principal to company CEO was just a way for Ferrari to progress with new management while keeping Todt from signing on in the twelve month gap?

Thankfully the FIA have decided that after Mosley, the presidential role may only be kept by one person for two terms, which will help keep a fresh perspective on the sport. Although it goes without saying that whoever takes over needs to be intelligent enough to listen to all views concerning the sports and interests that fall under the FIAs control. They need to understand that it is the fans who ultimately decide the fate of Formula One, and the decisions made in Paris and Monaco have huge ramifications right down the grid, through the grandstands and across the world. Rules need to be unambiguous, penalties need to be consistent and changes to the sport need to made with full and open consultation.

I don’t have much respect for Max, but I don’t envy his job either.

Original article by BlogF1.

The Next President Of The FIA