Jean Todt: "When I arrived at Ferrari it was like a ruined work of art"

Jean Todt: “When I arrived at Ferrari it was like a ruined work of art”. Jean Todt looks back on his time with Ferrari.

Ruined work of art
“When I arrived at Ferrari it was like a ruined work of art”. With these words Jean Todt described to the French newspaper L’Equipe his difficult arrival at the helm of the Maranello team, which took place in 1993. The French manager would not be able to transform the Scuderia into a real contender for the title until 1997. In the meantime however, one year earlier, Michael Schumacher had also arrived in Italy. Over the years, the two have transformed the simple manager-driver relationship into a very close friendship. This was also the result of the solid, almost unyielding way in which the German Kaiser defended his boss from the fierce criticism of the Italian press.

“If Jean leaves, I will leave too”
There is a famous anecdote told by Jean Todt himself, dating back to the ‘hot’ summer of ’96: “At the beginning there was nothing but mutual respect. He had asked to have a release clause in his contract that would allow him to leave if I left too. In 1996 – Jean Todt revealed – there was a rumor that I would be kicked out. Reporters told this to Michael who replied: ‘If Jean leaves, I will leave too’“. Since then Jean Todt’s position at Ferrari was sealed off for over a decade.

The Invincibles
It seems almost impossible to think this way now that Scuderia Ferrari is entering its 16th consecutive year with no world titles won, but then came an era, now some 20 years away, in which Sundays for Formula 1 fans were characterized by just one question: “Will anyone be able to beat the red car?”. Between 1999 and 2004, the Maranello team rewrote the history of the sport, winning six Constructors’ titles and five consecutive Drivers’ titles. Numbers which were surpassed only by the triumphs of Mercedes between 2014 and 2021. The creator of that era of Ferrari domination at the beginning of the new millennium was precisely the pairing Jean Todt – Michael Schumacher.

Ferrari man forever
In his career in the world of motorsport – both before and after Ferrari – Jean Todt held prestigious roles, helping Peugeot dominate the world of rallies and reaching the presidency of the FIA, which he held for 12 years. However, his name, more than anything else, is linked to the triumphs experienced with the Scuderia par excellence. “I left Ferrari permanently on April 1, 2009, but not a day goes by without people reminding me that I have a lifelong bond with Ferrari. If I am now famous, this is because my time with the Scuderia“, Jean Todt himself acknowledged.