Formula One news
Mosley repeats: Todt the better option
23 September 2009FIA President Max Mosley has again tipped Jean Todt as the better candidate to take his position once the Englishman leaves the post next month. The Frenchman, former Team Principal of Ferrari, is up against 1981 World Rally Champion Ari Vatanen as election time looms.
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| Mosley is currently serving his fifth term as FIA President |
With Mosley never having hid the fact that he is an open supporter of Todt, the current leader of the motorsport governing body stressed his opinion on the matter, which will see motoring groups from various countries vote for a new FIA chief.
"Jean will do a much better job than me in many, many ways," Mosley commented, "and in some ways he will upset the F1 teams less because he probably won't come up with the next big idea; he will make sure that it all runs like clockwork and he is completely fair, honest, open and transparent - that's what you need."
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| Jean Todt retired as Ferrari Team Principal at the end of 2007 |
Mosley went on to stress that Todt has always remained 'one-hundred percent' dedicated to his employer, be it Ferrari or Peugeot in earlier days, and that a role with the FIA would be adapted in the same fashion. "He is absolutely open and absolutely honest," Mosley continued. "Sometimes he upsets people because he says it as he sees it; he's not a politician, in telling people what they want to hear, and that is what we need."
Mosley then described how he wished to resign from the post he has held since 1993 on two occasions over the past five years; the first came in 2004, although he felt no replacement was suitable, with the second being in 2007 although the Ferrari-McLaren 'Spygate' scandal was then predicted to become public.
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| In Mosley's opinion, Vatanen does not possess the relevant skills for the job |
Finally, Mosley discusses the abilities of Finn Vatanen, who not only clinched the WRC 28 years ago title but retired last year after a decade-long stint with the European Parliament. "Ari keeps complaining - and has done several times - that I should be neutral and not favour Jean," Mosley explained.
"He has forgotten that, at the end of June when I announced that I was standing down, he called me up and said 'can I come and see you?' - so I invited him to lunch; he came to lunch on 3 July, said he was going to stand and asked me if I would support him - I said I couldn't support him as I'd promised to support Jean.
"I said 'I will be very honest - I think Jean is a much better candidate. You have no experience; you have never run anything, you've not been in charge of even the smallest organisation and have no concept of what it's like - you didn't even run your own rally car, you had a co-driver to do that."
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