Max announces his support of a Todt candidacy for FIA president. That seems to clearly lay out the competition for FIA president and cabinet election this Oct 25th. So whose presidency and cabinet will you support, Todt or Vatanen and why?

Vatanen clear as day I'm afraid. I just cannot fathom that Jean Todt can be a viable candidate given his extensive ties to Ferrari. And yes, I would say the same about Ron Dennis.

Vatanen. He's a neutral candidate.

I haven't heard anything specific about either of their platforms. I could care less what they've done in the past. What I care about is what they will do. Either has got to be better that Mosely at least initially.

Not Todt.



I'm backing (with Frans' blessing) Jos Verstappen as the next FIA Prez.

the fact that Mosley supports Todt rules him out for me....apart from the Ferrari connections.

so Vatanen then

Regardless of whether I'm a Ferrari fan, this has to be Vatanen.

I love Ferrari, but I never liked Todt.

I like Vatanen. He should be fully unbiased and has experience as a racer and politician. Seems like a great choice to me.

I'd rather have someone who takes a lot more distance from the daily proceedings of F1 than the current president of the FIA has made his habit. As such, a person like Vatanen, and I say like because I don't know enough about the man to warrant singling him out, would seem to me to be much more able to take the FIA presidency in that direction than someone like Todt, who has been so closely linked to F1 for over a decade.

The fact alone that Mosley is spreading heavy propaganda for Todt makes me want anyone but.

Vatanen is neutral and judging from his statements he wants to modernize and revitalize FIA - something which is long overdue. I think he is the absolutely best choice.

Vatanen surly, he has a political background and the extensive background that Todt has with Ferrari must devalue him.

I prefer Vatanen because he wasn't involved into any conflicts of the past, so there are no old animosities existent.

No he isn't, he is a stout Christian.

The winners will be drinking milk and saying a prayer on the podium in no time. I'm serious about the milk by the way, have a look at a picture Ari winning anything and on the podium/car.

In any form of Government it's just simple truth that dirty little deals are done, Ari's beliefs will interfere with these processes IMO.

Todt is purely excellent management material and thats the reason any of you even know him, you know Ari as a driver - now logically who is best for this position?

80% of RCF say Ari which confirms that Todt is the correct choice.

Yeah, even in his rallye heydays Vatanen never joined the boozing of his fellow flying fins.

I was a bit amused about the Austrian TV commentator, who claimed having a beer with Vatanen the day before the race, which was obviously a lie that he could have avoided with a bit of recherche about the candidate.

come to think of it.... its almost as if Max deliberately killed Todt's ambitions by backing him...

Todt has all the ability in the world but look how much more pleasant F1 is since he left Ferrari. He's incredibly confrontational, as Patrick Head has said. He's like Mosley, never happy unless he's fighting someone, he'd be the worst possible president.

Whether Vatanen is rather opinionated is a question, but if these two are the only candidates then there's no choice really it has to be him.

Vatanen doesn't stand a chance with Todt having Mosley's backers behind him.

I won't be surprised if Ari pulls out of the race before October and the GA will chose Jean Todt unanimously.

Thats one of the things that worries me, Ari is a wonderful Guy. No drinking, smoking, playing with the Lads etc. - look, this makes for a wonderful father, friend, family man and all those other nice people attributes but a hard nosed player in big business politics - no, just an innocent lamb that will be slaughtered.

I vote Ron Dennis for his honesty and integrity.

You forgot to mention what Todt and in comparison, Head have achieved since Todt arrived in F1.

I'm not sure many ex Williams drivers would mention 'Head' and 'delightful person' in the same breathe by the way.

That man is in professional politics since 1999. Don't underestimate those teatotallers; it takes a man's man to make such a decision and to go through with it.

I voted Vatanen for his reform remarks he made earlier, but how much of that is politicking no one knows. Todt would be good since he is a hard nosed bastard, but I've had enough of all past accusations about the FIA bending over backwards for Ferrari and I want to have a clean slate moving forward. In case anyone doubts how much love loss there is between Max and Luca then surely people may finally realize all the conspiracy theories were crap. The only favouritism Ferrari got were the special status for additional monies - which they deserved since they are the major draw of F1, like it or not. I want someone who has no allegiances to any teams past or present to represent the FIA.

By the way, I hope this quote from a poster "I vote Ron Dennis for his honesty and integrity" was a joke.

I admire Ari Vatanen as a driver but what seem to be his anti-scientific beliefs should disqualify him from representing car users and motoring organisations.

+1

But I'm affraid it will be Todt.

Vatanen

Vatanen doesn't have a green bone in his body.
And that is where the future of motoring lies.
Todt, on the other hand has done a lot of work in that area recently.
But Todt is a dirty deed guy and we certainly need to clean up the FIA.
So.
Is there a third choice?

Vatanen >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Todt

Yes OK but is Head standing for FIA president? No. So no need for us to worry about him

Todt we do seriously have to worry about.

I would vote 'neither' if that was an option in this poll.

Vatanennanan for me

I get the impression that the majority of Ferrari fans don't want Todt as President and quite rightly so in my opinion.

The fact that Mosley is pushing Todt means Todt is Mosleys lapdog and hence if Todt will get elected it will mean nothing will change.

Has Todt said he is standing?

I don't know...I never would have considered saying Todt before, assuming he's interested, but I know little, if anything, about Vatanen. I couldn't care less about his religious beliefs, so long as he keeps them away from his work, but I do care loads about where a potential head stands on innovation, especially so-called "green" technologies. Has he actually expressed a clear view on this via his politics, because what little I've found online makes him appear a bit anti "greenness". (Not living in the EU, I know little about EU politicians)


My pick? Neither, for now, though leaning more toward Vatanen; he has political experience, a racing background and he's not carrying Todt's Ferrari years baggage.

You would think so but Max still has alot of power in the FIA Senate and a recommendation like that would be in Jean's favour.

I think the key to Jean being a selection for FIA president is down to his ability to gather a tight knit team which delivers. Max says it himself, Jean was one of the most successful team managers ever and could manage people to achieve success. If you want the FIA to continue to function strongly and not disappear into the background then Jean would be your man.

Think about it, with Ari the FIA would be pushed to the back and FOTA would call the shots, however Jean is a strong personality but also a good diplomat. If he wants something, then Ferrari would fall in line as would the rest of FOTA.

I still think Ari would be good as a neutral candidate and would have good ideas for rally and F1, but you know that with Jean's experience in the F1 paddock and rally, he would be a formidable character. He too knows that the spectacle of F1 is broke, so I would hope that he would bring in some sensible rules for overtaking and would call on the knowledge of Ross Brawn and other key people in the paddock to improve the show.

Either is fine with me as long as F1 rules are changed to no longer be a bore.

Vatanen. There's one simple reason: he's not an F1 man, but he does understand motorsports. And he has hopefully gained good experience in politics and leadership.

Todt dragged Ferrari's name to an all time low with the ridiculous Spygate and Indygate nonsenses, the fact that the two F1 team principals who worked closely t with him at Ferrari don't exactly appear to be on his side speaks volumes and he won't have much support from McLaren Mercedes.
The one thing that might just scupper Mosleys plans for Todt is if Schuey were to give very public support to Vatanen.
The other danger with Todt is we will see a continuation of the Donnelly & Woods show at the FIA

Personally I would rather FOCA & CVC just de-camped and set their own 10 ring circus.

I'm no particular fan of Todt's, but seriously...if you want to hold something against the man, find an example of something Todt was actually responsible for. Neither of the situations you cite were of Todt's or Ferrari's creation, but rather circumstances Ferrari was forced to deal with.

The things going against Todt are his Ferrari connections (although, seeing how he parted with them, it seems to me he might actually be biased against them, but a bias is a bias) and the support he got from Mosley. What is seriously in his favour is his undeniable managerial success and excellent inside knowledge of both the car industry as well as motorsports, the two topics that the FIA is concerned with.

Vatanen is a relatively unknown quantity. There is so far little going against him, but at the same time very little going for him, too. His main advantage is that he is not intimately associated with the FIA dealings which, seeing how the organisation behaved in recent times, is quite a plus. There is, however, absolutely no knowledge of how he can handle leading such an influential organisation.

Todt may have his negative aspects, but they are also well known. It is also pretty certain that he would provide strong leadership and position for the FIA. Better the devil you know. I would choose Todt.

Blaming Todt for Spygate (McLaren fault) and Indygate (Michelin fault) is more than just a bit thick.

Well, I think that was pretty much a nail in the coffin for Todt's abmibitions as the President of FIA. Max's endorsment, is the last thing he needed.

Can't help but think that this might have been Max's final FU to Ferrari?

Todt totally exaggerated everything to gain maximum advantage. There was a huge gulf between what actually happened and what Todt, Monty and Max made it appear happened. It was grossly unsporting.

Ari would be better (and would probably get Prodrive into F1 at last) but I m pretty certain Todt is a done deal.

Todt has a conflict of interest b/c of his Ferrari ties. Mosley's endorsement and his recent implication of accepting money from the Malaysian govt. doesn't bode well for his candidacy.

So I guess that leaves Vatanen.

Interesting that FOTa want an independant president and the current one backs the most un-indenendant person, bar Montezemolo, for the post.....

Me thinks that Mosleys not done with F1 yet and would be behind Todt pulling strings for a long time to go yet....or he's doing a final two fingers to everyone
by backing the worst person possible!!

Vatenen makes sense as he's not linked to any particular manufacturer, knows motorspot and has a solid political background..

Todt has Ferrari (and a bit of Peugeot)right through him and given Ferrari's veto and his presendency, wheres the likelyhood of any rules/changes going
to benefit most...certainly not Mclaren!!!!!!!!

Ari. Todt will be seen as biased and what not every time he rules in favor of Ferrari or along those lines

Ari drove for Todt (at Peugeot)

Err.... has Todt actually thrown his hat into the ring?

He needs Mosley's backing like a third armpit.

Why? I thought with the way Luca pushed Todt out of Ferrari the last thing Todt would do as President is curry favors with his former team.

I don't remember it that way.