Jean Todt: I support Charles Leclerc

Jean Todt, who once led the Ferrari team, and from 2009 to 2021. who heads the FIA ​​​​, is a fan of Charles Leclerc and has no doubt that the driver from Monaco is among those who can win the world championship.

Todt’s warm feelings are understandable: Leclerc is not only a truly talented racer and races for the Scuderia, but his career is managed through his company All Road Management by Nicolas Todt, the son of the ex-president of the FIA.

“Now I support Leclerc,” Todt Sr. said. in an interview with the newspaper La Stampa. – My son has been working with him since the time Charles competed in karting, and now he has become a great racer. He deserves a chance to become world champion.”

But in recent years Formula 1 has been dominated by Red Bull Racing, and Todt is willing to draw certain parallels with the times when Ferrari’s championship cycle, for which Michael Schumacher still raced, ended.

“I see similarities between the two eras. Yes, Red Bull Racing has succeeded in putting together a very strong team, with an exceptional driver, very professional and smart, according to the 77-year-old motorsport veteran. – But do you remember 2005? Ferrari was still the same team, the same drivers driving it, but suddenly it was no longer competitive, even though it had already achieved many victories the season before. (Schumacher won 13 of the 18 Grand Prix in 2004, and Rubens Barrichello, his then teammate, won two more races).

But in 2007 we became world champions again with Kimi Raikkonen, and in 2008 Felipe Massa fought for the title and literally lost it on the last lap of the last race of the season.”

Todt emphasized that the transition to new technical regulations, which will take place in 2026, could create conditions for a change of leader, which could well be Ferrari.