Todt has 'clear conscience' over Ferrari settlement

FIA President Jean Todt is sticking to his guns, insisting the governing body's controversial decision to seal a settlement with Ferrari over its 2019 power unit was the proper course of action.

The FIA came under heavy criticism from a majority of F1 teams earlier this year when it was announced that it had signed a confidential settlement with the Scuderia that appeared to absolve the Italian outfit from a possible transgression last year of the technical rules.

Ferrari was suspected to have exploited a clever ploy in the summer of 2019 that potentially allowed its engine to exceed fuel flow limitations.

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But the FIA's investigation into the potential scheme proved too complex for the governing body's engineers who could not clearly establish whether the ruse used by Ferrari was legal or not.

The subsequent revolt from the teams, initially led by Mercedes and then by Red Bull after the former pulled out of the debate, forced a rebuttal from Todt who partiality was called into question given his past links with Ferrari and son Nicolas' management role with Scuderia charger Charles Leclerc.

Three months later, the Frenchman, speaking to Italy's Corriere dello Sport, hasn't changed his stance on the matter.

"The talk is inevitable," he said. "That’s how it works: they last a week and then we move on to something else.

"The truth is that when I accepted this job I knew I had to take the positive and also the negative sides.

"My conscience is clear, for me it is only important to be transparent with the members of the FIA, the ethics. The rest is part of my role, including unpleasant rumors."

Todt insisted the FIA had conducted its analysis of the case while respecting its due process.

"The case has been handled professionally and transparently following the rules," he added.

"And then on many things I have to make decisions on the basis of what is suggested to me by those who help give me the information, I do not act completely alone."

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