Reply With QuoteHow predictable :roll:
Oh dear, Jean Todt has been elected President of the FIA to replace Max Mosley.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/79695
Mosley pushed for this and there are many that believe it is an abuse of power. Todt will almost certainly follow on from where Mosley left off and may even appoint Mosley to a new position - perhaps in charge of F1 :shock:
The FIA sets itself up to be that paradigm of virtue and yet it appears to be a sleazy political powerhouse that serves self-interests. So, like certain governments then :(
The FIA controls pretty much all motorsport across Europe, as well as being the head organisation for motoring clubs and associations - so this affects many millions of people.
Any views or comments out there?
How predictable :roll:
"I looked with pity not untinged with scorn upon these trivial-minded passers-by"
Predictable and wrong on so many levels. The system is rigged in favour of the outgoing presidents wishes.
ETA, at least we didnt get a kinky, leatherclad madame, which could have happed if Spanky had spoken his real desires.
Is is necessarily a really bad thing? Todt doesn't like de Montezemolo very much and those who believe Ferrari is favoured amongst the FIA glitterati may be content, as it could be "payback time". The instant that the dwarf publically came out in favour of Todt it was all over. Still prefer Vatanen mind you.
I really did think Ari Vatanen would have got in!
That is pretty much a landslide victory though :?
I for one would like to see the back of Mosely. I hope he doesn't get a job under Todt.
Not good - next thing there will be a Nazi bondage scandal.........
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
A dark day.
Echo the above sentiments: Vatanen would have been much better - with be more of the same from FIA now.
I find it hard to understand how Todt could be considered as an impartial president seeing as he was until very recently heavily involved with Ferrari and his son has interests in the sport in a managerial capacity. Favours for friends me thinks. I don't believe for one minute Mosley will be standing aside completely either.
Vatanen suffered from speaking incomprehensibly, to be honest. Even if you believed in the guy, it was difficult to have any confidence in him convincing a largely English-only speaking audience. Todt, quite wisely, aligns himself with fluent English advocates as well as the (very strong) French and Italian lobbies.
I'll reserve judgement, but I'm not confident anything good will come of this... :?
Todt's not that bad is he? Seemed well-respected and liked when at the helm of Ferrari.
There were serious allegations of vote buying, intimidation and outright threats to withdraw facilities & races if countries voted for Vatanen - that in itself is enough to be deeply concerned.
Even worse the outgoing Mosley used FIA facilities and his position to canvass for Todt, while Todt himself campagined for free (because he accompaned his girlfriend who happens to be an 'FIA road safety ambassador') so had use of free flights, accomodation, venues and pre-arranged meetings courtesy of the FIA. All of this is clearly an abuse of power.
Mosley reportedly had Vatanen frog-marched from the FIA offices when he complained about how unfair the supposed "secret ballot" was (the FIA ballot uses marked voting papers so it isn't secret). Finally, when Vatanen tried to shake hands with Todt on the grid at Singapore he was physically restrained and even pushed away by Bernie Ecclestone http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsYRmOVmwhM
Todt has suggested that he will appoint commissioners for certain aspects of the FIA. Who do you think he will appoint to be commissioner in charge of F1?
My final points about why we should worry...
How much do you think President of the FIA is paid? Nothing - not a bean
Where is the FIA actually based now? No not France - it's actually registered in Monaco (a tax-haven)
This sort of thing nomally only happens in certain African states and is utterly reprehensible.
WTF....have you seen those eyebrows!!!!
I could forgive the decision if it was just a small gentlemans club. The problem is that the organisation has quite a lot of power and is not just there to herd F1. I would have preferred to have seen somebody there who had more distance from F1. It all seems like a quango of the hightest order.
A couple of thought provoking articles from PitPass that (to me) helps to explain the seriousness of the situation.
http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpa...s_art_id=39385
http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpa...s_art_id=39394
This election really does seem to have a touch of the old "Robert Mugabe" about it.
This is a disgrace, I am sure I read that when Todt was at Ferrari they had an agreement with the FIA that they could veto rule changes. Todt really is the dark prince that worked with Mosely :twisted: ....We needed a fresh start in F1 and instead this will be a disaster for all teams apart from Ferrari and Renault.
If only something could be done about it...........
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