Jean Todt settles scores with Mohammed Ben Sulayem
Former FIA president Jean Todt responded to claims made by Mohammed Ben Sulayem after he took over the helm of the governing body in an interview for the newspaper L'équipe.
The former president of the FIA, Jean Todt, has broken his silence on the criticisms from Mohammed Ben Sulayem regarding his leadership, dismissing them as unfounded while expressing his disappointment with the portrayal of his legacy.
Todt responds to Ben Sulayem’s previous statements
A year ago, Ben Sulayem, who succeeded Todt in late 2021, revealed that his first task upon taking office at the FIA was to deal with a cash shortfall of 20 million dollars and an unexpected legal matter involving a patent dispute over the Cockpit Protection Device Halo.
At the time, Todt remained silent about his successor’s allegations, but in a recent interview with L’Equipe, the Frenchman openly addressed these claims and is anything but satisfied with how his tenure as head of the FIA has been described by Ben Soulayem.
« I believe that when one chapter closes, another one opens and you shouldn’t attack its predecessor. Whether it’s leaving Peugeot, Ferrari, or the FIA, I have never said anything. There’s no point in making allegations, especially when they are false ».
One thing that Ben Sulayem did not shy away from doing, after taking office two years ago, is to complain about the situation in which he had taken over the leadership of the FIA, suggesting that Todt had left the ship with a lot of problems to be solved for his successor.
« There was a financial problem that we were unaware of. We had a deficit, even before the COVID-19 pandemic, but I am glad to have filled it. […] We have never had a CEO in the past 118 years, and if we want to overcome the challenges that arise, I cannot engage in micromanagement.
« We all know, and I will be very honest with you, we have had a problem with the finances. We had a deficit this year, exceeding 20 million dollars ».
Jean Todt defends his legacy
Statements suggesting that Jean Todt was guilty of interference and had left the FIA in a sorry state. Statements that he denies and defends himself against.
« When I left, there must have been over 250 million euros in reserves. […] I will be clear. Every year, the accounts were highly profitable, except for the last two years, marked by the COVID-19 crisis, which could have taken down the Federation.
When I arrived in 2009, there was barely 40 million euros, whereas the FIA had just sold the commercial rights of F1 for a hundred years a few years before.
(I)I don’t call that a deficit. When I left, the budget had been multiplied by almost three, with new competitions and sources of revenue, such as Formula E, the World Endurance Championship, or the Rally Raid Championship.
« It is true that we left an unresolved dispute when I left, the Halo case. But it has not been swept under the rug. It has been thoroughly documented and monitored by our services, we presented it to the Senate and the World Council before my departure, and the current president attended this presentation. »
« The reality is what I just told you. And I will add something regarding the revenues of the FIA: it is under my presidency that the Centennial Agreement and the Concorde Agreements between the FIA and F1 were renegotiated before Liberty Media became the owner of FOM.
« Without going into specifics, I can tell you that the income received by the Federation has significantly increased compared to before. And its position in the governance of Formula 1 has also been restored. It now has a third of the votes, alongside the FOM and the teams. It’s like night and day compared to the previous agreements ».
« One cannot prevent someone from criticizing or disagreeing. But everything I did during my presidency was always approved by the Senate and the World Councils. »
