How F1 is waking up to its existential threat
Leading Ferrari to five consecutive world championships at the turn of the century is arguably the greatest success of FIA President Jean Todt's career to date. But if he can safely steer motorsport through the coronavirus crisis, it would be an even bigger achievement that would define his legacy
For all the cold, hard decisions that Jean Todt sometimes had to make on the pitwall as he helped guide Ferrari to its golden years of success with Michael Schumacher, one of his traits when you get to know him up close is that, on a human-to-human level, he cares. He cares a lot.
As the coronavirus pandemic rips its way through the world, it is no surprise to hear how moved Todt has been, not just by the impact it is having now, but also where it leaves humanity in the future.
Share Or Save This Story
Jonathan Noble is Motorsport.com’s Formula 1 editor. Having graduated from University of Sussex Jonathan worked for sports news agency Collings Sports reporting on F1, F3, touring cars and other sports, with articles appearing in The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, Reuters, Autosport and other publications. In 1999 he moved to Haymarket Publishing to become a senior editor at Autosport Special Projects, and one year later he became Autosport’s grand prix editor. In 2015 he moved to Motorsport Network, becoming the F1 editor for Motorsport.com. He is also a member of the Guild of Motoring Writers, and sits on the FIA Media Council.
More from Jonathan Noble
Alonso hit with penalty for Sainz clash in China F1 sprint
Norris had no reason to apologise for China F1 sprint showing, says McLaren
Hamilton: Norris would have been better off conceding in Turn 1
Shanghai F1 grass fire mystery remains; emergency team on standby
F1 teams and Pirelli had no warning of “painted” Shanghai track surface
FIA still chasing answers over bizarre Shanghai F1 grass fires
Audi a player, not a spectator, in F1 driver market - Sauber
Why F1 2026 worst case fears could be key to new rules success
Latest news
Alonso hit with penalty for Sainz clash in China F1 sprint
Norris had no reason to apologise for China F1 sprint showing, says McLaren
Supercars New Zealand: Heimgartner splashes to Taupo opener victory
Hamilton: Norris would have been better off conceding in Turn 1
Autosport Plus
The short-term pain that hides a very real Williams improvement
How a Shanghai to Sheffield journey paved the way for China’s F1 hero
Why F1 2026 worst case fears could be key to new rules success
How the F1 driver market situation sits for each team with 2025 openings
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.