There was a minute’s silence held before the race, but it was held – as Todt had originally intended – in memory of the victims of global road traffic accidents.
Of course, this is a hugely worthy cause and one which is clearly dear to Todt’s heart. The Frenchman, together with his wife, the Hollywood actress Michelle Yeoh, has long campaigned for improved road safety, a blight which kills thousands of people every year. But one which is entirely irrelevant where mass murder is concerned.
As the head of the sport’s governing body and therefore its symbolic leader (if not its real one – even well into his 80s Bernie Ecclestone still calls the shots), Todt should have been wise enough to read the mood music, to realise that in pushing ahead as planned he was not representing the wishes of his sport, many of whom, like him, are French or who live in France. He should have understood the reach of the sport and how his actions would be perceived around the world.
Not the way to do it: Jean Todt helped embarrass F1
His concession was to drape a French flag on to the side of the parade bus before the race, with drivers wearing black armbands. Todt wore one, too, and no doubt he was 100 per cent sincere in doing so. But the damage had already been done.
Once again, and at a venue where the F1 circuit rubs shoulders with Sao Paulo’s favelas, Formula One’s leadership looked out of step with the rest of the world; of existing within a bubble.
It was left to Romain Grosjean, Lotus’s French driver, to hold up a French flag during the minute’s silence, an act that had the effect of looking subversive when it should have been anything but.
The irony is that Todt is usually notable by his absence when major issues crop up. He has developed a reputation since succeeding Max Mosley in 2009 of being both invisible and ineffective. That he should have put his foot down so prominently this time, upsetting so many in the process, will only confirm in many people’s minds that he is not the man to lead motorsport’s world governing body.