Vote Todt, get Mosley?

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Would Max Mosley be Jean Todt's choice for F1 Commissioner?

Reading Jean Todt’s FIA election manifesto, one line jumped out at me:

For each FIA World Championship we propose appointing a Commissioner responsible for the Federation’s day to day management and governance of the championship.

Now, who do you think Todt might have in mind for the job of F1 Commissioner?

One name springs to mind given what Todt has already told us his plans are for the FIA:

It is my intention to continue and expand the outstanding work of President Mosley, who for 16 years has worked tirelessly to strengthen the FIA’s major motor sport championships and to position the FIA as the voice of the motoring public, actively promoting safe, clean and affordable mobility for all.

Mosley used the letter to the FIA confirming he would not stand for president again to endorse Todt as his preferred choice of successor – a move that angered Todt’s election rival Ari Vatanen.

In addition to the promise to set up commissioners for the different FIA world championships there is a proposal to set up a Stewards Review Group to look into the many examples of inconsistent, unjust and arbitrary justice (my language, not theirs) meted out in F1 and other championships.

Both these ideas may be fine in principle, but what matters is the people in charge. FOTA stuck to their guns to get rid of Mosley, and they (and most of the fans) will not be impressed to see him return by the back door.

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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61 comments on “Vote Todt, get Mosley?”

  1. This would be really perverted :)

  2. and the same thing will continue… :(

    at least I’m happy that we’ll have Montreal again in the circus!

  3. if thats the case, leave mosley as the president and have him apoint todt as the F1 commisioner. the vote taking place is based on the assumption that the FIA head will be calling the shots. basically, most people who want todt, want him as the final say in F1.
    Stewards board is a good thing, and correctional court also good….so long as mosley is not in chard of either. and to be honest, its nothing against him…but FOTA have signed concord agreements based on mosleys departure as a major factor.

    1. if thats the case, leave mosley as the president and have him apoint todt as the F1 commisioner.

      lol true

  4. Does this mean the only person we can call to get rid of him is van helsing.

    1. Nice! :)

    2. Van Helsing, indeed. And perhaps we could call upon John Constantine to assist.

      1. Arun Srinivasan
        6th August 2009, 6:17

        John constantine should assist in cleansing of F1 from many other devils!! :-)
        Anyway, coming to the matter, I don’t think Todt would appoint Max, ‘cos he knows it would bring serious uproar against him from FOTA and fans alike, and all that’s wanted of the new president is change. I don’t think Todt would be so stupid to do that. (cunningness is diff from stupidity, he may be cunning in getting his agenda thro or things done, but getting max in his team is stupidity)

    3. You mean Vatanen…!!

  5. Don’t even think it! Ugh please no. Please please. I still really do sort of wish – despite the inevitable period of chaos – that FOTA had stuck to their guns for longer, and set up the breakaway. The sport needs to get away from the politics, but Mosley (IMHO) genuinely thrives on conflict and controversy. He likes causing trouble, and believes that it is the way to operate effectively. His personal life and professional life show a lot of common themes, and while I don’t care what he does in private, I do care that the way he operates has greatly reduced my personal enjoyment of what has, on track, been a very interesting championship so far.

    Mosley go home. Go, go, go. Get your jollies by causing people pain in private.

    1. Accidentalmick
      6th August 2009, 11:13

      My sentiments exactly.

  6. I don’t get something. How this “Commissioner” is different from current position of Alan Donnelly?

    1. The Commissioner will have power over the whole day-to-day running of F1, not just the steward’s office. Presumably the Disciplinary Board will go some way to making Alan Donnelly’s current position obsolete.

      1. OK, if Donnelley’s position is obsolete, but Mosley is the commisioner then the puppet master has taken the stage in place of the puppet. I don’t see any net gain in that scenario.

        1. The Commissioner will simply be doing what Mosley had been doing related to F1. All the other functions go to Todt. They would essentially split the function of FIA president.

  7. The only office Mosley belongs ANYWHERE near, is the little box office at Boots where old codgers like him queue up to get their pills.

    1. To stereotype elderly people as being Mosley-like is insulting and adds nothing intelligent to this discussion.

      1. Yes, it’s an insult to old people to tar them with the same brush as Mosley.

        1. I expect Rob meant it in a lighthearted way, but it could have been phrased a little differently

  8. The FIA needs change – the best way to change is to… change. Thus if Mosley is recommending Todt, that is all the reason I need to NOT want him in office.

  9. Ari Vatinen all the way please! :-|

    1. Vatanen already sealed his fate accusing Todt with using FIA funded travel for personal use.Too bad really…I was pulling for him,I can’t believe he stooped to mudslinging.

      1. hardly mudslinging.

      2. Not only that, Vatanen naively sided with FOTA through his speech on several occasions which, albeit is good, was not seen as support and security to the FIA by its members.

        Vatanen should have simply withdrawn his bid for the presidency immediately after Mosley announced Todt. Why? This would have been seen as a clear message, that the presidential selections for the FIA are fraud and that there is no point in running for the position of president to which the person has already been more or less selected.

        As is now, Vatanen will remain nothing but a puppet. FIA will use him and give him a few votes, to make it look like he had a fight, while on the end Todt will secure the win.

  10. It seems flawed to me that the fans of the sport and the teams have absolutely no say in how the sport is governed. I wish the breakaway were happening, so we could stop the FIA and FOM from continuously sodomizing the sport we all love.

  11. I wish that Formula 1 could somehow seperate itself from the FIA.
    I don’t mind the idea of a commissioner, but not if it involves having Max around. I would want it to be someone who has not yet been corrupted by Max, or you know, spanked by him.

  12. I was gonna hope that Todt would get the presidency, but if this is true and he wants to appoint Mosley for commisioner, then hell no, Ari Vatinen for presidency please!

    1. Ari, even though we all like him, doesnt have a chance I am afraid. FIA is too corrupt.

  13. Casino Square
    5th August 2009, 21:11

    Why can’t Max Mosley do us all a favour and go and live on the moon?

  14. Who doew that little ******* troll think he’s fooling.
    But I bet he already has the votes from all these 3rd world places that dont even race to get him in. Here we go again, F1 will be in the toilet.

    1. But I bet he already has the votes from all these 3rd world places that dont even race to get him in.

      that I must say is correct observation

  15. I was right and my Psychotherapist was wrong! There really are evil emperors!!!
    lol

    1. is your “ Psyco the rapist max mosley??? :)

  16. That sounds like the job Alain Prost is angling for:

    hxxp://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/77394

    1. its possible

  17. I saw this post elsewhere & Mosley was the first person I thought of. You know it would be him. My God I hope Todt doesn’t win that election. If that comes to pass how long do you think it is before FOTA pulls up stakes and goes independent like we all wish they had?

    1. My God I hope Todt doesn’t win that election.

      haha im afraid its too late for that. you can consider him already a president, unless some miracle occurs.

      Unfortunately Ari doesnt have a chance because of the corrupt system.

  18. OK, I know I’ve said it before, but

    F1 is corrupt

  19. So we might end up with Todt “Newman” as president,his girlfriend Miss Mieuw as chief of Image,Race Movie Production and PR, and for F1 Commissioner Lou himself.
    All in the family !

    I hope this not happen and that Ari Vatanen gets elected.

  20. The FIA feel that Mosely has done a good job so yes, I think that Todt will win and Mosely will be commish. The FIA tricked FOTA into thinking they won by getting rid of Mosely, but FIA basically said, “Screw with one of us and we screw you.”
    FOTA and the fans lost big time on this, and I really hope everyone pulls out for “advertising and money issues”, then start over somewhere else.

  21. From what i’ve read of Todt’s plans, he plans to do bugger all. He plans to be a lame duck president. Let everybody else do the work while he and his fiancee live it up. Joking aside, there’s one thing in his manifesto that will be good to see, a stewards review group, also a disciplinary panel to take charge of all investigations and hearings. This should be totally transparant and show how they came to make the decision on penalties. If he does win and its looking likely after Ari’s outburst, then I will be keen to see if this happens. The cynical will say he’s helping Ferrari covertly or that he’s delegating to not court controversy, maybe thats his style.

    1. He plans to be a lame duck president.

      lol

      a lame duck, better yet a frog

      Let everybody else do the work while he and his fiancee live it up.

      very true

  22. Todt and Mosely need to be out, both of them suck. Throw crazy Bernie out too.

  23. Well if he wins, (and I think he already has) then F1 is dead as far as I am concerned and now BMW looks like the prophetic group of wisemen.
    I guess I will have to be satisfied with ALMS and WSC championships as well as DTM, nothing else will really matter after that group of fascists get in power.
    I am witnessing the death of open wheel racing.

    1. Well if he wins, (and I think he already has)

      dead right! the election is going to be nothing but a joke to mask up what really too place behind closed doors.

      As I mentioned in another post, Vatenen should simply pull out of the presidential bid.

  24. do. not. want. mosley.

  25. (i dont like mosley except when he push forward safety improvements to F1, other than that. sorry max)

  26. Of course it’d be catastrophic if Mosley becomes involved in F1 in whatever way shape or form. But I don’t think Bernie and CVC will let it happen.

    Even if Mosley is not commissioner, but if his men who share his same reckless views get the job, it’s not doing F1 any good anyway. Hopefully Mosley can sober up and see that retirement is not half as bad for him. He should just walk away and enjoy his fortunes. What has he got to gain by clinging on in the background?

    Sad thing is, F1 is held to ransom by a bunch of automobile clubs in god-knows-where, who have a vote for president. Most sensible thing is for them not to vote Todt and embrace change. Easier said than done…

    One thing I’ve always wanted to ask is: Why does F1 need the FIA as regulatory body? You don’t see NASCAR, IRL, NBA, NFL, FA have such a thing. They do just fine governing themselves.

    1. That is a good question.

    2. I thought that was the whole reason behind FOTA.
      But alas, the team owners are either stupid or just as money hungry as Bernie and Max.
      It doesnt matter. In a few years the world will grow tired of the charade being playd out in front of them and the real drivers will find another type of racing. (Keiths article about F1 guys in rallye).
      I regret seeing this but it is the demise of the sport.

  27. Arun Srinivasan
    6th August 2009, 6:29

    I think this ‘could happen’ prediction column is not required in the politically heated times like these. I guess Keith, you could stop at predicting races.
    Todt, as you know him, stops at nothing to get his agenda, which is awesome as a manager, and also has worked in a team, so he knows what the sport needs and more about the millions of fans he amassed during his tenure. Lets give the guy a shot(only if parties concerned elect him) then talk about his shortcomings, if any!! This is too much useless debate, which has been fuelled by anti-ferrari sentiments and the poor guy getting Max’s support.
    Compare him to a driver who won under him and who has some speech abilities, I’ll vote Todt anyday to Ari.

  28. I don’t think Mosley would be F1 Commissioner if there will ever be one. (executioner more like it :P)

    anyway, there are lots of highly qualified people that could serve as Commissioner to their respective championships, for F1 i can think of Berger, Prost or someone that has been both a successful driver and relatively successful team owner. In rallying, I’m not sure who that might be, but I’m sure if you dig enough you could find someone that has been in the sport and has a good idea of what’s what.

    Mosley is out I presume, i know he has a knack to turn about on his own words, i have a feeling this time he’s bidding goodbye.

  29. This is a clever move by Todt to keep his backers (mainly Max) happy. They get to do what they want to do, and by appointing ‘Commisioners’ in charge of each branch of the FIA, Todt as President won’t get blamed when the various teams and organisers disagree with the FIA rules, he can point to the guy in charge and say ‘nothing to do with me, its his fault’.
    As for a Stewards Review Group, if the same people who allow the incompetance and mismanagement by the Stewards now are put in charge of a review, what is going to change? If this goes through, there had better be input from drivers and team principles, or the whole thing is meaningless.

    1. Iceman cometh
      6th August 2009, 9:30

      Believe me, only one with such stupidity would appoint Max to that role, and even if he does, would the teams be very happy???
      Just useless discussion. Todt knows better than doing this.

  30. I really don’t know how much Tod is linked to Max.

    He could be acting as: “Thanks Max everything you have done is great” and then change everything.

    The power of the votes are in MotorClubs that have almost nothing to do with motorsport, and seems to me this has been one of the keys of a Max long period as President.

    So, maybe, Jean Tod is just taking the advantage of being recommended by the person who has been able to keep the votation process under control.

    Or maybe not…

    1. Bigbadderboom
      6th August 2009, 19:21

      Agreed, Jean Todt may prove to be simply being “Polite” to Max, in political terms. Jean is a very independent and strong character, and may be paying lip service for Max’s support.
      I would like to give him the benefit of the doubt, for him to appoint Max as commissioner for Formula 1 may well be a nightmare scenario, I don’t think it likely in the cold light of day. F1 has suffered too much bad publicity and has walked a very fine line with sponsors, supporters and broadcasters. Some of this was from within the paddock and some from outside with Max and his extraordinary activities! But Jean will be the first to realise that the sport needs stability and a period of peace, to help attract the new sponsors that will be required to replace the likes of ING and to assist the new teams. Unfortunatley the lifeblood of F1 is money and not the fans, it is a fact of all modern popular sport. And the back door appointment of Max as a commissioner would be a big turn off for these sponsors. So although nice to debate, it is unlikely, although I do agree the appointment of Jean Todt is a forgone conclusion.

  31. I agree with the idea of having a different Commissioner responsible for each series.

    I assume as this is just a proposal of what Todt will do if he wins, it won’t be like his Cabinet where he has to name them all before the election. I could quite easily believe that Mosley would get the job, I have always thought that even after he steps down as President Mosley would still have considerably influence over F1 one way or another.

  32. This would be really perverted – really – you guys even doubt? It is expected, that in any form or shave, Mad Max retirement will be just a way to ******** F1 Team yet again, passing the torch to an old friend that will reciprocate and hand over the power back to Mad Max…

    For that and EVERYTHING ELSE, please let ARI VATANEN win!!!

  33. Vote Todt, get Roger(ed).

  34. Don’t see him appointing Mosley, simply because it would overshadow his presidency.

    But even if he did, let’s not too carried away since the Concorde Agreement is back in place so any rule changes for F1 have to go through the procedures laid out in there. Max wouldn’t have the same level of influence that he has the last few years.

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