Ben Sulayem took over from Todt at the end of 2021, and has pointed out several times that one of the biggest headaches he has had to deal with was a deficit that he inherited in the FIA's budget.
Speaking about the issue for the first time last year, Ben Sulayem said: “There was a financial issue that we didn’t know about. We had a deficit, even before the pandemic, but I’m pleased to have cleared that.”
Ben Sulayem suggested that the figures being talked about were “over $20m,” as he also said his early days as president were dominated by an unexpected court case involving a patent dispute regarding the Halo.
Up until now Todt has kept quiet about the matter, but in a lengthy interview published in L’Equipe, he has now responded to what has been said – and is far from impressed about how things have been portrayed.
Todt said that the deficit the FIA faced in 2021 was a consequence of the Covid crisis, where he had had to work hard to endure the survival of both the governing body and F1.
And he is clear that the overall finances of the FIA were in a far stronger place at the end of his presidency than the beginning – as he cited examples like options on FE ownership and real estate profits as extra positive elements.
“When I left, there must have been more than 250 million Euros in reserves,” Todt told L'Equipe when asked if he was surprised by Ben Sulayem's comments.
“When I arrived in 2009, there were barely 40m [Euro], although the FIA had just ceded the commercial rights to F1 for a hundred years a few years earlier.
“I don't call it a deficit. When I left, the budget had been multiplied by almost three, with many new competitions and sources of income, such as Formula E, the World Endurance Championship or the Rally Raid Championship.”
Source: Autosport