The FIA awards ceremony, held yesterday evening in Paris, was the occasion to see Max Verstappen officially lift the trophy reserved for the world champion after the withdrawal of the appeal that could have presented the Mercedes. Among the various emotions experienced at Place de la Concorde, one of the most touching concerned the now former President of the International Federation Jean Todt. The 75-year-old, whose mandate lasted uninterrupted from 2009 until December 17 of this year – the day on which the name of his successor will also be decided, with Graham Stoker and Mohammed Ben Sulayem in the role of favorites – has in the meantime been awarded, by the Generate Assembly, of honorary president, “In recognition of his invaluable contribution to the Federation and to sport as a whole during his presidency from 2009 to 2021”.
During the evening, the former Ferrari team principal retraced some moments of his presidency but, above all, he wanted to publicly remember the figure of Michael Schumacher. The German, who was the victim of a serious accident after a fall on skis in 2013, was the one who won five drivers ‘titles at the wheel of Ferrari in the early 2000s, significantly contributing to the victory of six constructors’ world championships for the team from Maranello.
The French manager, who therefore wrote a historical page of the Cavallino with Schumacher, opened his final speech by paying homage to the Kaiser: “I want to be very honest, I miss Michael – He admitted – because it’s part of my life, it always will be, and we have managed to build many things also because we have suffered together, and this has made us stronger. Twelve years ago every candidate was invited to have six people with him to support their election. I remember I had three people with me: my wife, Michael and my son. And it’s something I’ll never forget “. Regarding his presidency, Todt finally added further considerations: “I am quite happy to have closed this chapter – he concluded – I’ve been in office for a long time, and I mean doing the job the way I did is challenging. I think it is now good that the FIA will have a new and fresh team at their disposal. I bequeath an incredible team, which will be able to continue doing their job even with the newly elected team. Of course I still have the same passion, I love car racing, and I will continue to follow them ”.
#Todt #remembers #Schumacher #part #life #FormulaPassionit