Is Vettel a future FIA president?
Current FIA president Jean Todt dropped a hint that Sebastian Vettel could be a good fit for his role one day.
The four-time World Champion’s future in Formula 1 is unclear currently after he announced that he would leave Ferrari at the end of 2020.
Renault appear to be Vettel’s most likely option if he remains in the series, while Mercedes could also be a possibility.
But Todt suggested that the legendary German driver could well have a future in Formula 1 as president of its governing body, the FIA.
“Maybe he will be a good president of the FIA in the future. You never know,” he told Sky Sports F1.
Todt was the boss at Ferrari during their dominant years alongside Michael Schumacher.
Five titles came Schumacher’s way during his time with the Scuderia, but Vettel has so far been unable to add to his tally during the six years he has spent with the team.
But Todt doesn’t think Vettel has unperformed, instead he said the results have been “logical” because his car hasn’t been good enough.
“The results, good or bad, you can explain,” he said.
“Together with Michael, the whole team at Ferrari, we had so much success because we had a very united, strong team who were supportive of each other – mainly in the difficult times – rather than in the good times. It is easy to be together when all is good.
“You see a good sailor in a rough sea, so when we were in the rough sea we were all on the boat. I am talking about boats but we are talking about cars, of course.
“Michael, when he arrived [at Ferrari], he was a world champion in ’94, ’95. In ’96, he only managed to win three races. It’s not because he was not motivated. He simply did not have the car to allow him to pretend to be world champion.
“Slowly and slowly we built the car, we built the team which made it possible. So it’s a combination.
“Take Lewis Hamilton, if he was unable to drive a winning car, he could not be world champion. You saw that with [Fernando] Alonso. You saw that with [Sebastian] Vettel. It’s logical.”
Despite some talk of retirement for Vettel, Todt believes there are still “opportunities” for him and that other teams would be “very lucky” to have him.
“Sebastian Vettel is one of the greatest talents in motorsport,” he said.
“There are a lot of other opportunities, so we can only wish him the best and I mean that. I really feel that whoever will take him will be very lucky.”
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