Ari Vatanen pledged to return “common sense” to motor sport’s governing body if he is elected president, and said time is running out to prevent a Formula One breakaway series.
The former World Rally champion announced his candidacy for FIA president on Friday, saying he could help bring unity to F1 after a bitter feud between the teams and the governing body this season over a proposed budget cap.
“Imagine if there was a rival series, that would be the end of the FIA as we know it,” Vatanen said ahead of the German Grand Prix Saturday.
“Everybody would lose, including those in the other series. It’s now at the 11th hour to apply common sense, and maybe a bit of humility would not be bad either.” The Associated Press
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“It’s the right time for change, you cannot govern in an autocratic manner.”
The 57-year-old Finn, who confirmed his intention to stand on Friday, stressed that unity is the only way for the sport to solve it’s current problems.
“I would stand for very simple principles, you cannot govern any society in a one-sided way, you need to take all partners into account, you need to give people a feeling that they are important, because we are all in the same boat.”
“We have to remain together and we can only remain together if everybody is smiling - as we say in Finland it’s better to have reconciliation and get a modest agreement than to have a big war.”
“We can only be strong if we are united and we can only be united if we speak to each other, we have all got one mouth and two ears, so maybe we should use our ears more than we use our mouths.”
“I believe that this cause is noble, there is an opening now and I think I have the conviction and the credentials to do it,” he continued.
“This cannot be an ego trip for anybody, not for Mosley, Jean Todt or Vatanen, this has to be for the FIA and only an independent man can bring the change about and swim against the current if necessary.”
Former Ferrari team boss Jean Todt, is widely seen as Mosley’s preferred successor should he step down, which looks increasingly likely after F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone said in an interview he had “no doubt” that Mosley would honour an agreement to step down in October.
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Mosley, 69, said last month he would not seek a fifth four-year term of office as FIA president when his current terms expires in October.
It came as part of a peace deal struck with Formula 1 teams - but Mosley says he is now under pressure to stay on.
Mosley’s future appeared to have been resolved last month, when he and the Formula 1 Teams Association (Fota) - an umbrella group for eight F1 teams including Ferrari, McLaren and Renault - struck a peace deal following months of wrangling over the sport’s future. BBC Sport
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