Giorgio Terruzzi dropped the bomb on the columns of Corriere della Sera: Jean Todt, at the end of his last term as FIA presidency, could return to Ferrari. The French manager would have expressed the idea of taking on a super consultant role in Maranello as soon as he is free from federal constraints.
The vote for his successor is scheduled for December 17 in a ballot between two candidates: Graham Stoker, current FIA secretary, and Mohammed Ben Sulayem, bearer of a desire for change in a management that is showing many cracks.
Jean Todt is in constant contact with John Elkann, Ferrari president, and the idea of integrating the French manager into the Cavallino staff was put on the table. After all, Jean was in Maranello a few days ago to support the second edition of Girls on Track – Rising Stars, the initiative promoted by the FIA that promotes Laura Camps Torras in the Ferrari Driver Academy.
The super consultant would reconnect the thread to a winning history of the Scuderia, given that the transalpine at the Gestione Sportiva brought something like 14 world titles, between drivers and manufacturers, in a cycle that lasted 11 years from 1993 to 2009 marked by the Schumacher era.
Todt could take on a role that would allow Elkann to delegate some political functions in the management of the Scuderia, such as the discussion of the 2026 regulations, without delegitimizing the role of team principal of Mattia Binotto who, on the contrary, would find a precious ally in the management of the team. 2022 must reappear at the GPs with the face of someone who wants to win again.
It should be remembered that the president had not evaluated Todt in the role of CEO after the departure of Louis Camilleri, although his candidacy had been carried out by many exponents inside and outside Ferrari.
For Elkann, a 75-year-old figure was not the right one to trace the future of the brand in a delicate phase such as that of the ecological transition, so the choice of Benedetto Vigna who has taken over the reins of the Cavallino since September was perfect. Jean Todt’s role would be different with an external but politically relevant role in the Maranello organization chart.
John Elkann on this opportunity would not have expressed himself with the top management of Ferrari who fell from the clouds after the anticipation of the Corriere della Sera. Is it just a smoke screen or is there no decision?
Those in favor of Todt’s return to Maranello recognize that the Frenchman has great political power in the world of motorsport that he knows in every aspect. Let’s not forget the friendship that binds him to Stefano Domenicali, F1 supreme boss, and the fact that his son Nicolas is the manager of Charles Leclerc. In short, Jean could play a leading role in the discussion of the technical and sporting rules for 2026 when the new power units come into action.
Making comparisons, there are those who compare Todt’s possible role in Ferrari to that of consultant played by Niki Lauda. The Austrian experienced two phases: the first as Luca di Montezemolo’s right-hand man in the phase of relaunching the Cavallino, just when Jean’s cycle in command of the Scuderia began in 1993. Niki had no operational roles and the initiative proved to be a failure.
Different was the experience at Mercedes, where Niki was appointed as non-operating director of the F1 team and was a brilliant right-hand man to Toto Wolff and political adviser to the president, Dieter Zetsche, with 10% of the team’s stake.
What would be the possible role of Jean Todt? Among those who shake their heads at the idea of a heated soup, there are those who argue that it would make no sense to recall a former president of the FIA when his successor wants to make a clean break in management, not without heavy criticism, current.
So, lights and shadows. The ball is in the hands of John Elkann …
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