Jean Todt: “The time for the inventory has not yet come”

Next December, your third and final mandate at the head of the FIA ​​will end. What is your assessment?

The time for inventory has not yet come. It's too early. I had two periods in my career, from 1966 to 1981 where I raced; then from 1981 when I took charge of the management of Peugeot Sport until today.

Over the past thirty years, there hasn't been a day that I haven't been to the office; which is a little crazy, but which I consider a blessing. I intend that it will be the same until December 17 or 18. Only then can we debate what was true or not.

Two candidates, Graham Stoker and Mohammed Ben Sulayem, will face each other. Do you have a favorite?

I don't have a candidate. I will respect the choice of ballot boxes. I know there are two candidates for the job, but perhaps others will come forward as the closing date is somewhere in October. There is still time.

I remember that during my first election, I announced my candidacy in July for an election in October, and it was only at the last minute that I revealed my team. Conversely, the two current candidates have already presented theirs.

Do you plan to keep a link with the FIA?

No, no one would be comfortable with that, least of all me. In December, my time will be over, the page will be turned. I do a lot of things that are not related to motorsport and that few people know about. I have projects that it is still too early to talk about.

Bernie Ecclestone, Chase Carey and Stefano Domenicali will have succeeded each other at the head of the F1 under your presidency. Who was your favorite to work with?

Chase replaced Bernie and decided to revamp F1. He recruited Ross (Brawn. Editor’s note) and surrounded himself with a team. He created a team and did not want or be able to operate alone like Bernie. With the latter, my relationships have always been different, because we must not forget that I arrived in F1 thanks to him who suggested my name to Ferrari, but that doesn't mean I always agreed with him and we didn't clash.

Then Chase decided to step down and Liberty called on Stefano. We know each other very well. We worked together at Ferrari, then at the FIA ​​where I entrusted him with the reins of the Commission Single seat. From a work colleague, he became a friend and I am very happy for him. He has his own style, different from that of Chase and Bernie. The most important thing is that during these years, the sport has never been penalized by possible disagreements between the FIA ​​and the commercial rights holder.