Brazil Grand Prix 2015: Jean Todt vilified for comparing Paris death toll to traffic accidents

FIA president makes comments that are immediately condemned as self-serving

Nico Rosberg beat Lewis Hamilton to pole in Brazil (Getty Images)

The FIA president, Jean Todt, made what can only be described as an unforgivable error here yesterday when he chose to use his role as special envoy for road safety to the United Nations to tell French television: “Do you realise that the number of people killed in road accidents is by far bigger than the number of people who died in Paris yesterday?”

In the paddock for the Brazilian Grand Prix his comments were roundly condemned as crass, self-serving and utterly inappropriate. The Frenchman was here as part of the biggest ministerial road safety meeting in five years, in Brasilia.

There was to have been a minute’s silence on the grid for those who have perished in road safety accidents. Instead, there will be one in support of those who suffered in the Paris terrorist attacks. Bernie Ecclestone struck the right note when he said quietly: “We live in a wicked world, with wicked people.”

In terms of road safety, it has not been a good week for the world champion, Lewis Hamilton. Rumours abounded that Todt would revoke the Briton’s role as a road safety ambassador because of his latest indiscretion, a minor but heavily published shunt in the early hours of Tuesday in Monaco.

Hamilton was a day late arriving here and soon it transpired that it wasn’t so much a fever that was delaying him, rather his “work hard, play hard” lifestyle which had caught up with him after the Mexican GP – not least his mother Carmen’s 60th birthday party.

According to Monaco’s Palais de Justice, Hamilton’s foot slipped off the brake. They stressed alcohol was not a factor, and a mandatory breath test was negative.

Hamilton had told his Twitter followers: “Whilst ultimately it is nobody’s business, there are people knowing my position that will try to take advantage of the situation and make a quick buck. No problem. Nobody was hurt.”

That was sufficient to unleash the righteous-indignation hounds. But the events in Paris focused the mind on more important matters than the human frailty of a sportsman who is feeling the strain of a punishing schedule.

The paddock was still reeling over events far away yesterday as Nico Rosberg beat Hamilton by 0.078sec to take his sixth pole position of the season and his fifth in a row, setting him up for a repeat of his 2014 victory here.

“I’m pleased with today and to be in the best place to start the race,” Rosberg said. “We were playing catch-up after Q2 didn’t go to plan, but we really got going in Q3. My last lap was on the edge with a couple of big moments, but I’m happy with that.

“I’m definitely going for the win, but really what happened here today is not important after yesterday’s tragedy. The media these days takes you so close, and that makes it all the more intense and shocking.”

Hamilton, subdued amid all the flak, said he wasn’t concerned to have lost his rhythm in qualifying – his last pole was at Monza in September. “It was good today, I had really good balance on the car and was happy with the work we did with the engineers. It was very good in Q1 and Q2, but in Q3 I was unable to find that bit of edge.”

Sebastian Vettel had harboured higher hopes than third after splitting Hamilton and Rosberg in Q2. “But then I saw that Nico had made a couple of mistakes in his lap, so I wasn’t expecting to stay there in Q3,” he said. “We saw lots of people sliding around yesterday, so it could be an interesting race.