Former FIA president Jean Todt to join Ferrari for F1 2022 season, could be seen on race weekends

Former FIA president Jean Todt is reportedly returning to Ferrari ahead of the 2022 season in a “super-consultant role.”

Veteran F1 journalist and an accredited FIA F1 permanent passholder Joe Saward has revealed that Todt could return to Maranello in a role that involves both the road car company and the F1 team. In his blog joeblogsf1, Saward wrote:

“...Ferrari will be in the spotlight when it announces that former FIA President Jean Todt will return to Maranello in some sort of super-consultant role, which will involve both the racing team and the car company. Expect to see Jean appearing at races in 2022…”

Jean Todt led the team for more than 15 years between the mid-nineties and late noughties when the former went on to dominate the sport.

After the death of founder Enzo Ferrari in 1988, Maranello went through years of mismanagement and internal conflicts, leading to the team struggling on track.

In 1994, Todt, who was then known for his successful campaign for Peugeot in rallying – with successive Paris-Dakar victories between 1987 and 1990 – was hired as General Manager and team principal to lead the Scuderia.

Along with legendary F1 talents such as Ross Brawn, Rory Byrne, and Michael Schumacher, Todt rebuilt Ferrari into a dominant force after the death of founder Enzo Ferrari.

Between 1999 and 2004, Ferrari went on to dominate F1, winning a then record-breaking six successive constructors championships, along with five successive driver’s championships with Michael Schumacher.

Ahead of the 2008 season, Todt was replaced as CEO of Ferrari by current F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali. However, Todt stayed on as special advisor to the team for another year. In 2009, he formally resigned from his roles at Ferrari to take up presidency of the FIA.

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Ferrari’s “special” relationship with the FIA and F1

Todt’s return to Maranello after an extended period at the helm of the FIA could lead to some friction between other teams and Ferrari. They might fear that his enormous clout in the motorsport world could provide the team with an unfair advantage.

The situation had played out in reverse when Stefano Domenicalli was appointed CEO of F1. Many team bosses were worried about his ability to remain neutral after serving as Ferrari's team principal between 2008-2014.

Rival teams were particularly incensed with the way the FIA (led by Todt) handled the 2019 controversy surrounding Ferrari’s engines. Prior to the 2019 American Grand Prix, the FIA issued a clarification of the technical regulations surrounding engine fuel flow rate. Almost immediately, Ferrari’s dominant straight-line performance vanished, leading to speculations that the team might have been cheating.

The FIA did come to an agreement with the team after an investigation, but refused to publish its findings, stating that it risks exposing the Scuderia’s intellectual property.

For many, F1 is synonymous with Ferrari, such is Maranello’s history with the sport. It's the oldest team on the grid and has taken part in almost every world championship race since the sport's inception.

As such, the team from Maranello has often been accused of receiving preferential treatment. This is perhaps most evident in the sport’s rule-making process.

Generally, for a regulation change to be accepted, the governing body, F1 and the teams all need to be in agreement. But the process isn’t entirely democratic, as each team has only one vote while both the FIA and F1 have 10 votes each.

However, unlike other teams, Ferrari is the only one to hold a “veto.” If they feel that a rule change would adversely affect their vision of the sport, they can simply block it.

Created in 1980 by Bernie Ecclestone when he was still negotiating the original Concorde Agreement, the veto has survived for nearly four decades and remains a powerful tool.

Additionaly, Ferrari also receives a “special Ferrari payment” for being part of the sport since its inception.