The FIA Presidency: Jean Todt vs. Ari Vatanen (Update: Todt Is Elected)
Published
By Mr. C.
After 16 years in power, today is Max Mosley's final day as president of motor-racing's governing body, the FIA. By the close of play, either Jean Todt or Ari Vatanen will have succeeded him.
A majority vote will be required by a candidate, but from where we're sitting, it does appear that the outcome will favour Todt. If you're interested in the political machinations that seem to forever dominate motorsport, and if you're following the events going on in Paris, then this is the thread to discuss matters.
Update: Jean Todt has secured a majority vote with 135 votes to 49.
Update: FOTA have released a statement welcoming Jean Todt to the FIA Presidency. Chairman Luca di Montezemolo said:
I would like to send my best wishes to Jean Todt in his new role, as I have always appreciated his ability, dedication and commitment. I am sure that, under his guidance, the Federation will be rejuvenated and will restore a climate open to dialogue and constructive collaboration with the teams and FOTA, thus ensuring stability of the regulations and the whole environment.
Update: Maurice Hamilton is suggesting that Jean Todt will likely had the appointment of F1 commissioner to Michael Schumacher.
We will of course post updates as information becomes available.
115 Responses
23rd! Max Mosely's last day in office!
I wonder if the BBC will live text the whole day.
And it can't come a moment too soon. But I'm more interested to find out his replacement.
Bye Max. Don't let the door hit you on the butt on the way out.
Go Ari!!!!!!!!! I mean Mr President
Evening all.
Just read that the two Dutch votes for the Presidency go to Vatanen.
The German sports club vote is split, so this vote doesn't count.
The AvD wanted Todt and the ADAC wanted Vatanen.
Do we have a timescale, say when is the vote and when is the result expected? Or do we just wait?
I'm not going to be here Friday night or most of Saturday but I expect I can sneak in during work ;-)
Never met a Dutch person I didn't like
Looks like this might be VERY close. We shall see.
I can't see anything on the FIA site about an election schedule
We'll just have to wait then. Thanks for checking.
It may take longer than planned now that the named envelopes have been removed due to Ari's legal challenge
I don't see how it makes a difference. Open the envelope and count the vote, you don't need to know who it comes from.
Anonymous voting should be quicker.
Now they can't make notes of which clubs have votes for which candidate.
It made it slightly easier for Max and co to apply pressure but they have lost that now so hopefully we get a fair election
No, Spanky might enjoy that.. :-O
Forza Ari !
Crofty on 5Live talking about this at present...
Vatanen's policies have rather less substance than Todt but Ari is a nice guy....apparently...
Crofty calculates Todt has 30 more votes.... and some will effectively abstain by posting blank votes....
From Joe:
Today is the day
One thing to say - passion for the sport is one thing, but will that translate to actual improvement for the sport and for the FIA?
From Alan Bladwin on Twitter:
That won't make any of them more popular. Hehe. :D
#wrongsupporters ?
Mr Noble says FIA election results may be out by lunchtime. Just over two hours away, then.
They could both in reality like the same candidate but you still couldn't get those two to agree purely on principle.
I'm very worried. Jean Todt is a problem because he's Jean Todt. Whereas Ari Vatanen seems completely clueless as to what he's actually going to do if elected other than being very open about doing whatever he eventually decides to do.
They can vote very quickly when they know they might not be able to find a decent restaurant in Paris with some tables still available
♥
Mr Roberts says vote counting is underway.
Todt is president
135 to 49
http://joesawa...odt-is-fia-president/
Ah poo. :(
that was um.
closea walkover.wow, thats a right old kick in the nads
blimey. that is a majority.
Initial reports - Todt wins in a landslide - 135 to 49. Now waiting for confirmation from BBC and Autosport.
I am so pleased that you became amy and decided on another year of SPC. ;)
:)
as i said before, annoyingly i quite like todt suggestions. and i thought ari handled his campaign very badly.
embarrassingly in fact.
Too true. That was erm... One-sided.
If Jean stays truthful to his campaign then it shouldn't be all that bad. But I'd still have very much liked Ari in charge.
Jean Todt just has that whole history behind him that makes me iffy about him. His campaign was good though.. so...
Agreed x a million. :D
was a little bit expected, but not that much
Ari was a shill for Todt all along I reckon.
When Todt released his PDF manifestoy thing I quite liked what it said. Then I felt ashamed.
Yes. Me too. Thanks guys!
yes!! me too. exactly that.
He is a Finnish politician and it showed.
How so? Any insight?
Now he's in power I assume it's going to be like a Disney film and he will turn into Ursula from the Little Mermaid or some kind of crazy villain
Why do I know about Ursula....
I am willing to take the blame for this one since it was thrown in my direction while I could not defend myself ;)
I've sent you a pm through the wiki
Very good, thank you :)
Look on the bright side - Max is finally gone :)
This all reminds me of the Obama vs McCain election, where Obama won by a land slide...
The difference in this case is that the peoples favourite was the one that got beat.
#Arifor2017
You all disappointed it's Todt?
Yup.
Was expected though
not really. Didn't care one way or the other. But I reserve the right to change my mind later on.
am moving.
#nothingtoseeherechristine
I was disapointed when it was announced that Mosley was stepping down and nobody seemed to emerge that I really thought had the combination of a) much of a chance and b) I liked. So yeah twas bound to happen, and that was it really.
bugger
I have a sour taste in my mouth... but then again, that might just be the Jelly Beans ;)
For Jean Todt: 135
For Ari Vatanen: 49
Abstentions/invalid votes: 12
Even counting the abstentions, Ari would only end up with 61 votes, still way below expectations. But given that the initial estimate was 140-100 (or thereabouts), where did the other 40 clubs go?
Probably read Ari's interview by autosport
press release from fota: http://www.tea...release-fia-elections
Vice Chairman John Howett: "I extend my best wishes to Jean Todt as he takes on this demanding but crucial role. I am convinced that Jean Todt’s presidency represents an opportunity for all Formula One’s stakeholders to unite under his leadership and work together to strengthen our sport.”
FOTA chairman Luca di Montezemolo, who worked with Todt at Ferrari, said: "I would like to send my best wishes to Jean Todt in his new role, as I have always appreciated his ability, dedication and commitment.
I am not shocked ;)
:D
...even though I kicked him out for not being Italian enough...
Some things in life are bad
They can really make you mad
Other things just make you swear and curse.
But remember one little fact
This marks the end of Max
And this'll help things turn out for the best...
And...always look on the bright side of life...
Always look on the light side of life...
*whistles*
:D
But seriously? I'm a bit worried already. I know LDM just doesn't wanna make enemies, but still... I hope he's speaking on behalf of FOTA, rather than Ferrari.
Assuming Todt isn't just the second coming of Max, of course, otherwise, it's not really the end, is it?
I've been thinking for the last couple of weeks that Ari was an awful candidate and the membership wasn't left with much choice but to pick Todt as loathsome as that sounds.
We shall see.
No we won't. :-)
We'll probably never know what we missed out on.
JA's article on Todt
JA says major changes on the way. I hope it's the good kind.
That said, who do you think will become the F1 Commissioner? And will this person be able to control Bernie and the teams?
My initial guess as F1 Commish is Tony Purnell. It could also be Alan Donnelly, but I suspect Todt will go for someone not so related to Max.
Also interesting to note from JA - Frank has become close to the FIA with Max in charge. But FW is no fan of Todt. Which way will Williams' relationship with the FIA go?
ahh, lordy:
"@MauriceHamilton: Todt is likely to give the F1 commisioner's job to Schumacher. Now there's a surprise. Not."
http://twitter...ton/status/5101975428
i think i prefer that to having him behind the wheel. presumably he'd have to relinquish his role at ferrari?
Oh come on jean, predictable already
What does an F1 commisioner actually do?
*whispers*
Should all that be over here
Agreed
He can't be serious. We have a man as president who thinks it is OK for one team to have a veto over the others and his F1 commisioner is going to be the biggest cheat in the history of the sport?
Run F1. He makes all the insane decisions Max used to make
i feel i should point out that the man in charge was the one who open said cheating team
What has Schumacher done to be the commisioner of F1 anyways?
I don;t think being the most successful driver qualifies. I suppose he should be allowed to have his say if not with Ferrari, but he shouldn't be commisioner.
I agree but Schumacher started cheating way before he went to Ferrari
and Todt didnt say no
you know when a few months ago i said that there wasnt much point being in FOTA anymore....i may have changed my mind
That didn't take long :(
The good thing is the Concorde Agreement is only for a couple of years so the teams can limit the damage done by Todt and co.
Schumacher has just signed an extensions to his Ferrari contract so he can't do that and be the F1 commisioner
So they'll just release him?
I can't imagine they are going to object to having their man run the sport
they can't afford to get on the wrong side of him now.
someone just pointed out on twitter. it could be worse, todt could've made max the f1 commissioner.
there would have been uproar!
*shudders*
do we know what max's role will be? presumably he'll be up to something.
FIA Resident
he'll be living in the headquarters in paris
I think as a former president he gets an automatic seat in the FIA Senate where can can do some back seat driving
That's a great start..NOT!!!
what exactly will the F1 commisioner do anyway?
:D
That thought crossed my mind - but it can't happen, surely? I mean, he's under contract to Ferrari, fer cryin out loud!
heavens to mergatroid, no.
Eep. Well, Ferrari and Brawn will be the big winners if that happens.
if he so desires. he might suggest to todt from time to time, but i really think he'll back off after a while.
It has to be someone who's been in the paddock long enough to know how it works, but also has a keen understanding of politics to make everything come together.
A Jackie Stewart, perhaps? Or perhaps a Tony Purnell.
So we'll end up with another breakaway mess in 2 years time?
we were always going to.
i think christine pointed that out at the time... in complete exasperation.
well, we'll see. if todt implements the policies as he promised, there may still be hope.
but... yeah, i wouldn't hope too much.
problem is, as always, it's bernie + todt + teams/fota. so todt alone cannot prevent a breakaway, if bernie plays hardball.
From our own Dan Brunell:
The challenges for Todt
good point. on bernie's end, it'll probably depend on the role CVC will have then.
Surprisingly, Cheryl Cole's latest single is oddly appropriate for this entire situation. How odd is that...
OK, that's probably the alcohol buzzing for me. :D
Electing Todt does nothing to allay the perception of a Ferrari bias within the FIA. Especially if he then gives Schumi a job.
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