Mosley urged to stay on

Published on Sunday 28 June 2009 23:14

MOTOR racing chief Max Mosley claims he is under pressure to stay on as head of Formula 1's governing body after opponents rushed to write his obituary following a peace deal last week.

"They made the mistake of dancing on my grave before I was buried," the 69-year-old said in a Sunday newspaper interview yesterday.

The International Automobile Federation (FIA) president suggested the Formula One Teams Association (Fota), led by Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, had made a serious miscalculation.

"It's no good the teams getting a PR agency to claim I am dead and buried when I am standing here as large as life. I am under pressure now from all over the world to stand for re-election," he said.

"I do genuinely want to stop. But if there is going to be a big conflict with the car industry, for example, with the Fota teams, then I won't stop. I will do whatever I have to do. It's not in my nature to walk away from a fight."

Montezemolo and Fota came to an agreement with the FIA on Wednesday to scrap Mosley's planned budget cap and avert a breakaway series.

Mosley said he would not stand for re-election in October. A day later, he suggested the deal could collapse unless Montezemolo apologised for likening him to a dictator. Mosley also wrote to FIA members urging them to stand up to the teams and manufacturers.