Exclusive interview with Jean Todt: “I don’t have time to be nostalgic”

Jean Todt granted CARhebdo an exclusive interview, to be found in issue 2213, on sale at newsstands as well asin digital version. The President of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) received us in his Paris office for a personal interview about his relationship with motorsport.

Before taking Peugeot towards success in the World Rally Championship, the Paris-Dakar and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Jean Todt was a co-driver coveted by the best drivers in the 1970s, going so far as to become vice-world champion with Guy Fréquelin in 1981. 

However, at 73 years old, the Special Envoy of the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN) for road safety has not yet looked back. “Life is a road that goes by quickly and I don't have time to be nostalgic! I'm so privileged to be able to work for 50 years in the sector that fascinates me, the automobile industry. And being able to bring something to those who are disadvantaged today is just as motivating. So for nostalgia, we'll see a little later. Maybe when I will take the time to look at old photos, for the book I want to do in a few years, He explains.

Jean Todt was still kind enough to clarify how his job as co-driver helped him prepare for his career as team boss. “I earned a very good living and I took this as an apprenticeship for my future job as the boss of a team racing, which was my goal. This is why I never stayed for a long time with the same driver like Daniel Elena or Julien Ingrassia do today. 

I co-drove for around thirty drivers, French and foreign, for fifteen different teams. I wanted to know everyone, discover all the ways of working and I was at a very good position to observe everything: it was my university », analyzes the former Director of the Team Ferrari between 1993 and 2007.

Find the entire interview with Jean Todt in issue 2213 of AUTOhebdo, available on newsstands and in digital version.