In his long period with Ferrari, which started in 1993 and ended in 2007, Jean Todt built the Maranello team piece by piece, transforming a team into a crisis of victories and results in that dream team capable of breaking world records and titles in the early 2000s. The French manager is therefore among the best people who can understand the difficulties that Mattia Binotto is facing in an attempt to bring back to Italy that drivers title that has been missing since 2007.
Jean Todt achieved his championships with a first and a second designated driver – at the time of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello – but also with Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa, without pre-established roles. For many, the combination of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc with a view to 2021 made us think of the first-second driver role, although Ferrari has not spoken openly about it. The FIA president blessed the new couple of young drivers from Maranello, but he also warned about the importance of having a competitive car and team.
“In Formula 1 the importance is to have a great team, to be able to have a great car and then great drivers,” Jean Todt said, in a wide-ranging Sky Sports interview with Craig Slater – “Whether or not they have already been world champions doesn’t matter, what really matters is having a car and a winning team. And the results will come. It is not for me to judge these choices. Sainz and Leclerc are very talented drivers. I wish Ferrari the best. But first there is the 2020 season, where he will have many opportunities.” – the former Ferrari boss explained.
Will Sebastian Vettel retire at the of the 2020 F1 season?
“Sebastian Vettel is one of the greatest talents in motorsport. An announcement has been made that he will not drive for the team beyond 2020. There are a lot of other opportunities. We can only wish him the best and I mean that. Whoever will take him will be very lucky.”
The Frenchman added: “Maybe he will be a good president of the FIA in the future. You never know.”
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