Jean Todt Explains Why Alonso Missed Out on Ferrari Drive in 2000s
Jean Todt has revealed that a broken agreement with Fernando Alonso in 2000 led to the Spaniard being overlooked for a Ferrari seat during Todt’s tenure.
Jean Todt has said that Fernando Alonso’s decision to sign with Flavio Briatore in 2000, despite an earlier agreement with Ferrari, was the reason Alonso never joined the Scuderia during Todt’s time as team principal. The revelation came in a 2012 interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, where Todt described the episode as a betrayal that ended contact between the two parties for years.
Alonso, who was then an emerging talent in Formula 3000, caught Ferrari’s attention after a standout victory at Spa. According to Todt, discussions progressed to the point where Alonso’s manager, Adrian Campos, visited Todt at his home in Maranello and an agreement in principle was reached. Ferrari told Campos to wait and not sign with anyone else. However, Flavio Briatore, already a powerful figure in Formula One management, arrived with a contract for Alonso, which the Spaniard accepted.
Todt said he took the move badly and decided not to pursue Alonso for Ferrari again, even when the Spaniard became a double world champion with Renault and was available at the end of 2006. Instead, Ferrari chose Kimi Raikkonen as Michael Schumacher’s replacement. Alonso would not drive for Ferrari until 2010, by which time Todt had left the team principal role and been succeeded by Stefano Domenicali.
Alonso’s early career and Briatore’s intervention
The episode highlights the influence of managers in Formula One driver movements. Briatore’s intervention not only secured Alonso’s early F1 debut with Minardi in 2001 but also set him on the path to two world titles with Renault. Adrian Campos, Alonso’s manager at the time, confirmed that Ferrari had asked them not to sign elsewhere, but Briatore’s offer proved decisive. The relationship between Alonso and Ferrari remained distant until Domenicali brought the Spaniard to Maranello a decade later.
Impact on Ferrari’s driver choices
By 2006, with Michael Schumacher retiring, Ferrari had the chance to sign Alonso, who was already a two-time world champion. Todt, still recalling the 2000 episode, opted for Raikkonen instead. Alonso’s move to Ferrari only materialised after Todt’s exit, showing how a single contract negotiation can shape the direction of both a driver’s and a team’s history.
- Alonso debuted in F1 with Minardi in 2001.
- Won world titles with Renault in 2005 and 2006.
- Joined Ferrari in 2010, after Todt’s departure.
Todt’s comments in 2012 also reflected on the state of the championship that year, naming Alonso, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton as favourites for the title. At the time, Alonso was leading the standings, underlining the long-term impact of decisions made more than a decade earlier.
