Todt to face competition in election

Jean Todt looks likely to face competition in upcoming FIA election.

Jean Todt is expected to run for a second term as FIA president after his initial four-year spell in charge ends at the turn of the year, but he isn’t likely to go into the vote unopposed as the boss of the FIA Foundation road safety organisation David Ward has expressed his interest in standing for election according to Autosport Magazine.

‘This is not what I intended nor what I wanted, but I am certainly thinking about [standing] because it is important to have a debate, You can only have a debate if there is a choice of candidates, and there is no debate if there is no choice.’ he told The Times newspaper.

To confirm his candidacy, Ward would need to gain support from a number of national organisations or FIA-affiliated organisations.

The general assembly will meet on December 6th and the vote could be a crucial one, not only for the FIA but also for Formula One.

F1 is currently in limbo regarding a number of subjects. There is still no tyre contract in place for 2014. Whilst Pirelli are expected to extend their deal no official contract has been agreed following the recent tyre scandals in regards to the illegal test with Mercedes and then the farcical scenes during the British Grand Prix which saw four high-profile tyre blow-outs.

There is also still no Concorde Agreement in place, while the commercial agreement with the teams excludes Marussia, which has been heavily criticised by the team.

To cap it all off Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has also been indicted over his role in the sale of F1 to CVC, which could put his control of the sport in jeopardy.