A few weeks ago, everything seemed done for Jean Todt’s sensational return to Scuderia Ferrari. Then the sudden stop, with John Elkann who decided to resist the strong temptation to bring one of the most successful men in the history of the Red team back to Maranello. But why?
Today’s edition of Il Corriere dello Sport has reconstructed the story, revealing all the details.
Here is what was written by Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport on why Jean Todt did not eventually return to Scuderia Ferrari:
“The return of Jean Todt to Ferrari is a partnership that is obviously not going to happen at this moment: in Maranello the topic is avoided, as if it were a matter of grabbing a hot pot without handles. The news of a possible return on board as super-consultant of the former boss of Ferrari and former FIA president for a month (after three terms, the equivalent of twelve years as FIA president) is no longer being discussed, after the blaze at the beginning of December.
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MEETING – Jean Todt and Ferrari president John Elkann talked about it in August at Le Mans and a little later in Monza, the idea seemed feasible and Jean Todt himself did not deny this possibility at the 2021 FIA Prize Giving Ceremony. Then the mechanism jammed, John Elkann suddenly no longer agreed. Who knows if he was convinced by some long-time Ferrari man. Objectively the return of Jean Todt, a great figure as a result of his amazing successes from the past (rally, Formula 1 and sports politics), could not have gone easily: inserting him into an already established and (so far) stable chain of command would have risked breaking everything.
It seems that Jean Todt himself has lost this momentum, noticing resistance inside the Maranallo team that he didn’t really expect: too many raised eyebrows and the need for checks rather than open arms in the name of an old partnership which would be given a second life. While being sure that he could be a resource, Jean Todt pulled out when someone at the top started to treat the topic as if it were a problem”.
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