Former Ferrari President Could be in Line to Replace Jean Todt as FIA President

Jean Todt’s tenure as FIA president is coming to an end and he cannot re-apply for candidacy. However, Autosprint reports that ex Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo is one of the favourites. In addition to that, the Italian has the backing of former F1 supremo, Bernie Ecclestone.

Evidently, if Autosprint’s suspicions are correct, Luca di Montezemolo could be a potential successor. Other top candidates include Prodrive chairman David Richards, Formula E boss Alejandro Agag and FIA vice president Mohammed bin Sulayem.

However, Italy’s Autosprint have reason to believe that Di Montezemolo is also a candidate, as per a source ‘well known in the Formula 1 environment’.

Di Montezemolo  resigned from his role as Ferrari president and chairman in 2014 after several years. As it turned out, he and the late Sergio Marchionne didn’t see eye-to-eye on many an occasion. This led to increasing tensions between the two, and he chose to leave.

The 72-year-old has recently shared his thoughts on the Sebastian Vettel/Ferrari situation heading into 2021. He insisted that Vettel still has a lot to bring to Scuderia Ferrari and is a talented driver.

“Yes, because Seb is still very fast,” Di Montezemolo told Italian blogger Leo Turrini. “He has a lot of experience and I don’t think he’s in a crisis mode in terms of motivation.”

“His presence would also still be useful for Leclerc, who is very gifted but still has to confirm his position at the top after a great season. There will be a lot more pressure on him [Leclerc].”

Is he a good choice for FIA president?

Should di Montezemolo stand for the position, there will be a massive question on how much support he can get. With his background at Ferrari, one would imagine that some Formula 1 teams would be wary of his candidacy for FIA president. This is because of an innate fear that Ferrari may receive some aid from the FIA and get away with it.