Election Day: Autosport analysis of FIA candidates

Tomorrow is election day for the FIA presidency, and Autosport has pulled together an analysis of both Jean Todt and Ari Vatanen as well as a Q&A with each man.

There is nothing necessarily ground-breaking, but it is a good wrap-up of where each candidate stands and a look at their strengths and weaknesses. As Autosport says “both promis[e] a governing body that will be more conciliatory than confrontational, but their opposing views on making change means Friday’s election looks set to still be a defining day for the future of motorsport.”

First Todt’s qualities:

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STRENGTHS: Has assembled a strong team around him, and will devote his entire focus to the job in hand with the kind of ruthless efficiency he showed at Peugeot and Ferrari.

WEAKNESSES: Not the most popular of men with fans or the majority of F1 teams, following an often controversial tenure at Ferrari. Questions have also emerged about the nature of his campaign – amid allegations of lobbying from FIA officials and vote buying.

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And Vatanen’s:

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STRENGTHS: Keen to ensure FIA breaks with its past, and not afraid to ruffle feathers to bring about change. Would provide a clean split with the Max Mosley administration. He is also the fans’ choice.

WEAKNESSES: His campaign has lacked the detailed policies of Todt’s, and he stumbled when he falsely accused his rival of benefiting from using FIA private jets for campaigning. Does not have the kind of managerial and FIA experience that Todt has.

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I’m trying to read between Autosport’s lines and see if they hint at who they think will win. The piece strikes me as pretty well down-the-middle, although their emphasis on Vatanen only being about “change” does strike me as their subtle way of saying that Vatanen really has not put forth a complete enough agenda.

That may be so, but “change” may the word of this election. We will see in a matter of hours, I guess, as Autosport promises coverage of the vote. So the question about when we will hear the results, I guess, is answered.

As they say, stay tuned…

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