F1 News: Former FIA President Retaliates After Mohammed Ben Sulayem Slating

Jean Todt cleared the air on the 2021 budget deficit and the Halo trial under his tenure as FIA president.

Former FIA president Jean Todt has retaliated to the claims made by current president Mohammed Ben Sulayem about the 2021 FIA budget deficit after the latter took over the designation toward the end of 2021. Criticizing the current leadership by saying that everything was "turned upside down," the former leader made some surprising statements. 

Last year, Ben Sulayem spoke for the first time about an issue from 2021 when he took over the governing body's leadership from Todt, mainly about a budget deficit issue of “over $20m." He had stated:

“There was a financial issue that we didn’t know about. We had a deficit, even before the pandemic, but I’m pleased to have cleared that.”

Not only that, the current president also claimed that he had to face the troubles of an unforeseen legal battle about a patent dispute concerning the Halo. 

However, speaking for the first time after his exit in an interview published in L’Equipe, the former president clarified that the FIA's financial reserve had multiplied almost three times in his tenure. In addition, the lawsuit from his days was an ongoing case that was well monitored by all parties concerned. He revealed:

“When I left, there must have been more than 250 million Euros in reserves.

“When I arrived in 2009, there were barely 40m [Euro], although the FIA had just ceded the commercial rights to F1 for a hundred years a few years earlier.

“I don't call it a deficit. When I left, the budget had been multiplied by almost three, with many new competitions and sources of income, such as Formula E, the World Endurance Championship or the Rally Raid Championship.”

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Speaking on the Halo trial, he added:

“It is true that we left one dispute unfinished when I left, the Halo trial. But it wasn't swept under the rug. It was well documented and monitored by our services; we presented it to the senate and the world council before I left, and the current president attended this presentation.

“This was a lawsuit brought in Texas by an engineer who owned a patent that was only valid in the United States and for a short time. So when I left, there was nothing secret. And only one ongoing case, that one.

"But I wasn't surprised, I knew who my successor was. I know the character.”

When asked if Ben Sulayem's comments against his management had affected him, Todt added:

“No, it doesn't matter to me. And then it's smoke.

“I start from the principle that when one chapter closes, another opens and we do not allow ourselves to attack its predecessor. Whether leaving Peugeot, Ferrari or the FIA, I never said a bad word. There is no point in launching into allegations, especially when they are false.

“The reality is what I just told you. And I will add something regarding the revenues of the FIA: it was under my presidency that the Hundred Year Agreement and Concorde Agreements between the FIA and F1 were renegotiated before Liberty Media became the owner of the FOM (Formula One Management)

“Without going into detail, I can tell you that the income received by the Federation has very clearly increased compared to before. And its position in the governance of F1 has also been restored. It now has a third of the votes, along with FOM and the teams. It's night and day with previous agreements.

“You can't stop someone from criticising or disagreeing. But everything I have done during my presidency has always been approved by the senate and the world councils.”

Concluding his views, he added that everything had been changed under the current establishment that he had put in place. He said:

“Everything that was put in place during my mandate was turned upside down."

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