Todt: We don't need an F1 commissioner

The FIA will not be appointing an F1 Commissioner, Jean Todt said today.

At the time of his election as FIA president in Autumn 2009, the Frenchman promised the introduction of a commissioner to represent the FIA at Grands Prix and oversee F1 on a day to day basis.

This led to speculation as to who the ideal candidate to fill this powerful new role might be, with various names bandied about, including Gerhard Berger.

But 15 months into his tenure as president Todt has decided that an F1 commissioner is not needed,

“I had a superficial understanding about the FIA and how it worked, “ he admitted, speaking in his office overlooking Place de La Concorde in Paris.“So definitely with this superficial understanding we made some proposals. Most of them as long as they are constructive will be maintained. I thought it would be a good idea to have a commissioner for each FIA championships. But we have done a review of all the commissions and if you have a strong president of every commission then why do you need an F1 commissioner?”

With no commissioner in prospect, Todt’s position is still central to all the big decisions and negotiations regarding the sport.

“I don’t need to interact with everything,” he said. “I need to be involved but I never make any autocratic decisions – I cannot. We have an F1 commission.”

Todt cites the example of the sole tyre supplier contract which recently went to Pirelli despite Todt’s preference for Michelin.

But Todt says he will robustly fight the FIA’s corner in the upcoming negotiations over a new Concorde Agreement, due to come into force in 2013. “It is my job to secure the present and future of the FIA F1 world championship,” he said.