Jean Todt facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids Jean Todt
Todt in 2023

President of Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
In office 23 October 2009 – 17 December 2021
Preceded by	Max Mosley
Succeeded by	Mohammed Ben Sulayem
United Nations Secretary General's Special Envoy for Road Safety
Incumbent
Assumed office 29 April 2015

Personal details
Born	(1946-02-25) 25 February 1946 (age 79) Pierrefort, France
Spouse	Michelle Yeoh (m. 2023)
Children	Nicolas Todt
Education	École des Cadres, Paris, France
Occupation	FIA President, UN SG's Special Envoy for Road Safety
Awards	Grand Croix de la Légion d'honneur

Jean Todt (born 25 February 1946) is a famous French leader in motor racing. He used to be a rally co-driver, which means he helped the driver with directions and strategy during races.

Jean Todt led big racing teams like Peugeot Talbot Sport and Scuderia Ferrari in Formula One. He was also the chief executive officer of Ferrari from 2004 to 2008. From 2009 to 2021, he was the ninth president of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), which is the main group that controls motor sports around the world.

In 1966, Todt started his career as a rally co-driver. In 1981, he and Guy Fréquelin helped Talbot Lotus win the World Rally Championship for car makers. Under Todt's leadership, Peugeot won four World Rally Championship titles and the Paris-Dakar Rally four times. They also won the Le Mans 24 Hours twice. When he was in charge at Ferrari, their teams won 13 Formula One World Championship titles. Also, Michael Schumacher won five World Drivers' Championships in a row from 2000 to 2004, with Todt's help.

In October 2009, Todt became President of the FIA. He was re-elected in 2013 and 2017. His last term as FIA President ended in December 2021. Since April 2015, Todt has also been a special helper for the United Nations on road safety.

Jean Todt's Life and Career
Jean Todt's Trophies and Titles
Management Roles
Personal Life
See also

Jean Todt's Life and Career

Jean Todt was born in Pierrefort, a small village in the Auvergne region of France. After high school, he studied business in Paris.

Becoming a Rally Co-driver: 1966-1981

Todt (right) with Darniche, Nicolas and Piot in 1973

Young Jean Todt loved motor sports. He especially looked up to drivers like Jim Clark and Dan Gurney. He used his parents' Mini Cooper to drive in rallies. Soon, he realized his best skill was being a co-driver. He was very good at planning, strategy, and organizing. This made him a popular navigator for many top drivers.

By 1969, Todt was working with world-class rally stars. These included Jean-Pierre Nicolas, Rauno Aaltonen, and Hannu Mikkola. He had a lot of success as a co-driver with many famous racers.

In 1981, he was the co-driver for Guy Fréquelin with Talbot. This team was part of Peugeot. They won the manufacturers’ World Rally Championship. Todt also became more involved in managing the team and working with the FIA. He also represented drivers in the FISA Rally Commission from 1975 to 1981.

Leading Peugeot Sport: 1982-1993

In 1981, Todt stopped being a co-driver. He was chosen to lead Peugeot's racing division. At this time, Peugeot was having money problems and needed a boost. Todt used his skills to create Peugeot Talbot Sport. He wanted this team to bring Peugeot back to winning races. He was the main person behind famous cars like the Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 and the Peugeot 905.

In 1984, Peugeot returned to the World Rally Championship. In 1985 and 1986, the Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 won the manufacturers' World Championship titles. This was thanks to drivers like Timo Salonen and Juha Kankkunen. In 1986, a driver named Henri Toivonen died in a crash. Because of this, the FIA decided that the Group B cars were too fast and dangerous.

In 1987, Todt changed the 205 Turbo 16 for off-road rallies. His goal was to win the famous Paris-Dakar Rally. He became well-known in the 1989 Paris-Dakar. He even flipped a coin to decide which of his two drivers, Ari Vatanen or Jacky Ickx, would win. This was to make sure they didn't race too hard against each other and lose the team's victory. From 1987 to 1990, Peugeot won the Paris-Dakar four times in a row.

In 1992, Todt's team won the Le Mans 24 Hours race with the Peugeot 905. The next year, in 1993, three Peugeot 905 cars finished first, second, and third at Le Mans.

Managing Scuderia Ferrari: 1994-2007

Todt in 2001

In 1993, after 12 successful years with Peugeot, Jean Todt moved to Scuderia Ferrari. He became the General Manager of Ferrari's racing division. He was the first non-Italian to lead the team in a long time. His big challenge was to bring Ferrari back to winning. The team had not won a driver's championship since 1979. Todt started by reorganizing how the racing division was managed.

In 1994, Ferrari won the German Grand Prix. This was their first win in four years. However, other teams like Benetton and Williams were still very strong.

At the end of 1995, Todt asked the German champion, Michael Schumacher, to join Ferrari. In 1996, Schumacher won races in Spain, Belgium, and Italy. Todt also hired other talented people from Benetton, like designer Rory Byrne and technical director Ross Brawn.

In 1997 and 1998, Ferrari almost won the world drivers' title. They lost by only a few points. But in 1999, Todt achieved his goal of making Ferrari a winning team again. They won the Constructors' Championship, even though Schumacher was injured. Starting in 2000, Schumacher won five world championships in a row until 2004. Ferrari also won six straight Constructors' Championships. This was a record for how dominant a team could be in Formula One.

CEO and Special Advisor at Ferrari: 2004-2009

On June 1, 2004, Todt became the CEO of Ferrari. He also kept his role as General Manager of the Racing Division. In October 2006, after Michael Schumacher retired, Todt became a Special Advisor for Scuderia Ferrari.

In 2007, he helped Stefano Domenicali take over as the head of the Scuderia. On March 18, 2008, Todt left his role as Special Advisor. He stayed on the board of Ferrari for another year. In March 2009, he left all his positions at the Italian company.

President of the FIA

In April 2009, Todt became President of "eSafety Aware!". This group works to promote smart cars and new safety technologies. This helped him learn more about how the FIA works.

On July 16, 2009, he announced he would run for President of the FIA. The previous president, Max Mosley, supported him. On October 23, 2009, Todt was elected President of the FIA. He received 135 votes, while his opponent, Ari Vatanen, received 49. He was re-elected for a second term in 2013 and a third term in 2017 without anyone running against him. His time as FIA President ended in December 2021. He was replaced by Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

UN Special Envoy for Road Safety

Todt in 2020

Since April 29, 2015, Jean Todt has been a Special Envoy for Road Safety for the United Nations. This means he works with the UN to make roads safer around the world. The current UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, kept him in this important role.

Other Activities

Jean Todt also spends his time helping many charities. He helped start and is the vice-president of the Institut du cerveau et de la moelle épinière (ICM). This is an institute that does medical research on brain and spinal cord problems. He is also involved with the FIA Foundation for the Automobile and Society. He was a Tourism Ambassador for Malaysia from 2009 to 2015. Since 2015, he has been a member of the board of directors for the International Peace Institute (IPI). He also joined the IOC's Commission for Public Affairs in 2017.

Since 2018, he has been a board member of the Ban Ki-Moon Centre for Global Citizens. He also serves on the boards of several companies, including Gaumont and Edmond de Rothschild SA. Since 2003, Todt has been an Honorary President of the Federazione Auto Motoristica Sammarinese (FAMS) and an Ambassador for the Republic of San Marino.

Jean Todt's Trophies and Titles

As a Co-driver

Lyon-Charbonnières Rally (co-driver): 1968
Grasse-Alpin Rally (co-driver): 1970
Tour de France Automobile Rally (co-driver): 1970
Rally de Portugal (co-driver): 1971
Tour de La Réunion (co-driver): 1972
World Rally Championship (co-driver): Second place in 1981. This helped his team, Talbot Sunbeam Lotus, win the manufacturers’ World Championship.

He competed in 54 World Rally Championship (WRC) races as a co-driver and won four of them:

Winner, Rally of Poland in 1973
Winner, Österreichische Alpenfahrt in 1973
Winner, Rallye du Maroc in 1975
Winner, Rally Argentina in 1981

As a Team Principal/Director

World Rally Championship (Peugeot Talbot Sport): 1985, 1986 (both drivers’ and manufacturers’ titles)
Paris-Dakar Rally (Peugeot Talbot Sport): 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990
Pikes Peak International Hill Climb: 1988
French Rallycross Championship: 1988, 1989, 1990
Andros Elite Trophy: 1990
World Sportscar Championship (Peugeot Talbot Sport): 1992 (both drivers’ and manufacturers’ titles)
Le Mans 24 Hours (Peugeot Talbot Sport): 1992, 1993
Formula One World Constructors’ Championship with Scuderia Ferrari: 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008 (106 Grand Prix wins)
Formula One World Drivers' Championship with Scuderia Ferrari: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 (with Michael Schumacher), 2007 (with Kimi Räikkönen)

Important Awards and Honors

Jean Todt has received many awards, including:

Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour (2011) - This is a very high award in France.
Gold Medal of Youth and Sports (1987)
Officer of the National Order of Merit (1991)
Commander of the Italian Republic (2002)
Doctor Honoris Causa from Florence University (2004) - This is an honorary degree.
Dato Seri of Malaysia (2006)
Member of the Ukrainian Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise (2011)
Grand Officer of the Order of Saint Agatha (San Marino) (2012)
Commander of the National Order of Merit of Senegal (2013)
Medal from the King of Bahrain (2014)
Medal of the Order of Friendship of the Russian Federation (2015)
Humanitarian of the Year Award by the United Nations Association of New York (2016)
Commander of the Order of Saint Charles of Monaco (2020)

Management Roles

Peugeot Talbot Sport: 1982–1993
Scuderia Ferrari: 1993–2008
- General manager of the Ferrari Racing Division from 1993 to 2007
- CEO of Ferrari from 2004 to 2006
- Special Advisor at Ferrari from 2006 to 2009
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile: 2009–2021

Personal Life

Jean Todt has been in a relationship with the famous Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh since 2004. They got married on July 27, 2023, in Geneva. Jean Todt has a son from a previous marriage, Nicolas Todt. Nicolas is also involved in motor sports as a manager for drivers.