Ferrari Engine Boss Lands Job with the FIA

After Jean Todt, Ferrari will have yet another former member of the Maranello organization joining the International Automobile Federation (FIA) for the future. We're talking about the Italian team's engine chief Gilles Simon, who has been picked by the new president of the FIA to investigate new environmentally friendly technologies for the future of the sport.

It's worth mentioning that Simon will not focus only on new types of energy for the Formula One championship, but also other racing series.

As far as F1 is concerned, it's not rocket science that the FIA is not at all happy with how environmental-friendly solutions have been implemented in the sport. The logical example of the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) comes to one's mind, as the technology has been dropped by the F1 teams for the 2010 season.

Simon's sole contribution to the FIA will be to investigate new ways of making F1 and other series as well more eco-friendly.

“I am convinced that we absolutely must reflect the environment with new technologies. After giving up on KERS, we will accomplish nothing innovative next year. I'm sorry about that. I have therefore decided to create a working group (...) Gilles Simon, former boss at Ferrari engines, will join the FIA in this context,” said president Todt to Le Figaro newspaper, as reported by Autosport.

Although on the same line with former FIA president Max Mosley regarding F1 expenditures and the need to cut costs inside the series, the Frenchman insisted that he will never agree with budget capping inside the series. In exchange, however, Todt insisted that the teams need to look at the world around them and become self-imposing when it comes to throwing money down the drain.

“The F1 teams are sometimes blind and do not realise what is happening in the world. (...) If we want to perpetuate F1, it takes a real awareness and fundamental decisions,” added Todt.