Mosley insists F1 rivals will not force him from office

Published on Tuesday 23 June 2009 22:10

MOTOR racing chief Max Mosley insists he will not be forced out of office by teams and car manufacturers threatening to set up a rival Formula 1 championship.

In a combative letter to all member clubs yesterday, the International Automobile Federation (FIA) president indicated that he was minded instead to seek re-election as head of the governing body.

"Over recent weeks it has become increasingly clear that one of the objectives of the dissident teams is that I should resign," Mosley said in the letter.

"However, in light of the attack on the mandate you have entrusted to me, I must now reflect on whether my original decision not to stand for re-election was indeed the right one."

The FIA's 26-member world motor sport council, made up largely of national federations, is due to meet in Paris today, with Formula 1's threatened breakaway high on the agenda.

Mosley, who survived repeated calls for his resignation last year after a sado-masochistic sex scandal, had said after a confidence vote in May 2008 that he would step down this October.

"It is for the FIA membership, and the FIA membership alone, to decide on its democratically elected leadership, not the motor industry and still less the individuals the industry employs to run its Formula 1 teams," he said.

Eight Formula 1 teams, including champions Ferrari, have said they are preparing to set up their own series after failing to resolve differences with the FIA on next year's rules and a planned budget cap.

The Formula One Teams Association (Fota) wrote to the world motor sport council members earlier this month asking them to intervene to "facilitate solutions" in what was seen as an attempt to bypass Mosley.

The Brussels-based European Car Manufacturers Association (Acea) also issued a strongly worded statement concluding that the sport's "current governance system cannot continue" and that the FIA needed to revise its constitution.

Mosley said the Acea statement was an "attack on the FIA's right to regulate its Formula 1 World Championship but, worse, it is a wholly unjustified criticism of and direct challenge to the entire structure and purpose of the FIA.

"No president of the FIA could allow this to go unanswered," he added.

Mosley said the governing body was preparing legal proceedings "in case they are needed to protect the FIA's rights... and to discourage any dissident Formula 1 team from engaging in illegal acts."

He added that the catalyst for the crisis, the biggest Formula 1 has had to face in its 60-year existence, was the need to cut costs in the face of the global recession and ensure the survival of independent teams.

"It is extraordinary that at a time when all five manufacturers involved are in great financial difficulty and relying on taxpayers' money, their Formula 1 teams should threaten a breakaway series in order to avoid reducing their Formula 1 costs," he added.

"It remains to be seen whether the boards of the parent companies will allow precious resources to be wasted in this way."