Anger over F1 job plan for Fred Goodwin

Rumours have recently surfaced of the potential new role for the former banker, and a senior motor racing source has confirmed to The Scotsman that Sir Fred has been approached.

The news comes less than a week after RBS announced a loss of 28 billion – the biggest corporate loss in British history. Sir Fred's possible new job was yesterday branded "the reward of failure" as shareholders and politicians reacted with anger to the news. Margo MacDonald, the independent MSP, said the public believed "hanging was too good for him".

Although Sir Fred was unavailable for comment, it is understood he has been approached by a number of senior figures within Formula 1 with a view to standing for the position as head of the Fdration Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) .

The post is due to become vacant later this year when Mr Mosley – who has been at the centre of lurid sexual revelations and subsequent legal battles – is set to stand down.

Sir Fred – who, before overseeing the RBS debacle, often drove his Ferrari at the Knockhill racing track in Fife – is known to be a motoring enthusiast.

He was also instrumental in steering RBS into its multi-million-pound sponsorship deal with the Williams Formula 1 (F1) team four years ago. That deal, brokered by the three-times world F1 champion Sir Jackie Stewart, is believed to be one of his key qualifications for the job.

"Sir Fred has definitely been sounded out over a role in the FIA, most likely in a post-Max Mosley world," an F1 insider confirmed yesterday. If elected to the post, Sir Fred would become one of the most powerful men in F1, rivalled only by the sport's chief, Bernie Ecclestone.

His responsibilities would include maximising the FIA's financial return in areas such as sponsorship, but they would also include managing the bureaucracy of the sport.

The president of the Paris-based FIA serves in a voluntary and non-salaried capacity, with the office-holder seen as acting purely for the benefit of the sport. However, the post is regarded globally as being highly influential.

The FIA, and its president, represent more than 100 million motorists worldwide who are members of various clubs, with many different religions, cultures and sensitivities.

The post has more than its fair share of glamour, with visits to grands prix at the likes of Monaco.

Reacting to the news of Sir Fred's possible new job last night, Roger Lawson, the communications director of the UK Shareholders Association, called it "the reward of failure".

He said: "What are Sir Fred's qualifications? I would have thought the FIA have enough public relations problems already. This will just make things worse for them. They must have a very peculiar board to come up with this nominee – surely there must be plenty of other people qualified for the post.

"This really is the reward of failure, and if it goes ahead, will be a real poke in the eye for RBS shareholders. I think anyone thinking of appointing him should be examining Sir Fred's career very carefully before they go ahead.

"In terms of networking or public relations, he's such a public figure. Everyone will know where he has come from – it would start them on the wrong foot immediately. I would have thought the FIA would need somebody with a good reputation."

Ms MacDonald said the public would be outraged at the FIA's decision if Sir Fred was given the job.

"The impression from the people I met at the Gyle yesterday when I was shopping was that hanging was too good for him," she said.

"The impression will be that failure is being rewarded. It will seem as if, at a certain position, there is a reward for failure, but further on down the food chain, there is nothing of the sort.

"I met a taxi driver aged 68 who used to work for RBS and has lost 20,000 – that was his security for retirement. He is one of many who are suffering from what has happened."

Tavish Scott, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader, said Sir Fred should not be surprised if there were few banks lining up to sponsor F1 teams. "In many ways, Sir Fred can do what he likes in the future," he said. "If an organisation wants to hire Fred Goodwin, I guess they would know what he brings to the job."

Mr Scott added: "I do hope Sir Fred does not expect any banks to sponsor Formula 1 in the future. It would really stick in our craws to have well-paid Formula 1 drivers paid for through taxpayers' banks."

John Park, a Labour MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife and the party's spokesman on the economy, said he was not surprised that Sir Fred was in demand for high-profile jobs. However, he added: "I think that he has obviously had a lot of impact in the banking sector.

"I wouldn't want to curtail anyone's future career prospects, but it would be right for him to concentrate on helping us learn the lessons which need to be learned from the banking crisis."

Ian Hamilton, QC, a veteran lawyer who has started a legal case against RBS, said there was little that could be done to prevent the former chairman taking on the new role.

"Some day, somewhere, he will be held to account for what he has done, but that doesn't mean he can't work until then," he said.

Alex Salmond, the First Minister, declined to comment.

Before the election of a new FIA president can go ahead, Mr Mosley – who hit the headlines himself last year after being photographed being spanked by prostitutes – must make a final decision in June about whether he will definitely stand down when his current term comes to an end later this year.

Just last month, though, he issued a warning to any future candidate that they would find themselves under severe pressure, and he highlighted that the person taking on his job would need to have several characteristics.

"He, or she, will require a great deal of patience and ideally have an ability to understand quickly a great variety of technical and legal issues," he said.

"I would advise a potential successor to think very carefully before standing for election. The difficulty is finding somebody who has the necessary experience, but also the time and inclination to do the job."

In addition to Sir Fred, Jean Todt, the former Ferrari team principal and the man who oversaw Michael Schumacher's domination of the sport, has been connected with the president's position. However, it is thought there would be a great deal of resistance from within the sport to having somebody so closely tied to a single team, strengthening Sir Fred's chances of taking the job.

BACKGROUND

CARS have always fascinated Sir Fred Goodwin.

When "Fred The Shred's" departure was announced from Royal Bank of Scotland, it was generally supposed he would have more time for one of his main hobbies – restoring classic motorcars.

Sir Fred can often be found with his head under the bonnet of a classic car at weekends.

He used to own four of them, keeping them in the garage of his home in the countryside near Glasgow. Now, he resides in a Victorian mansion in the exclusive Grange area of Edinburgh. His favourite car was said to be a white Triumph Stag which took three years to restore, although he used to be driven to work in a modern Jaguar. His collection has also included Ferraris.

Sir Fred was barely 12 when his mother allowed him to drive the family car in fields.

He bought his first car, a locally built Hillman Imp, for 45 from the proceeds of a summer job as a labourer.

So it is perhaps no surprise that he has been sounded out for a role in Formula One.

Racing legend Sir Jackie Stewart is one of his close friends and, since RBS became a major sponsor of the Williams F1 team four years ago, the banker has often been seen at races.

PROFILE: SIR FRED GOODWIN

Age: 51

Education: Paisley Grammar; law at Glasgow University

Family: Married, two children

No of employees: Currently 0 (was 140,000 in 30 countries)

Hobbies: Cars, classic and fast. Owns two Ferraris, known to love driving around Knockhill. Said to be equally at home under bonnet of car as in Gogarburn office. Currently devoting lot more time to former

Best-known saying: "Sorry"

Wage: Currently 0 (was 4.2m after bonuses)

Perks: Being able to walk away from job with 8.4m pension pot as RBS implodes

PROFILE: MAX MOSLEY

Age: 68

Education: Millfield Boarding School; studied physics at Christ Church, Oxford

Family: Married, two children

No of "employees": Represents car firms as well as 100m drivers. Though primarily governing body of F1 and other racing, FIA champions motoring organisations, staff and drivers round world

Hobbies: Keen interest in recent developments in libel laws; also other racier pursuits involving prostitutes

Best-known saying: "Je ne regrette rien"

Wage: 0. FIA president is unpaid, though living in Monaco would suggest Mr Mosley is man of independent means

Perks: First-class travel, best seats for F1 races

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