Max Mosley made his first public appearance in formula one since revelations about his private life two months ago. The beleaguered FIA president appeared in the paddock here as the principality geared up for Sunday’s Monaco grand prix.
Mosley tried to present his tour of the waterfront paddock as business as usual but he carefully avoided being put in a position where he might have to answer questions about his suitability to remain at the head of the sport’s governing body, saying: “I can’t speak. I’m too busy.”
Some would say Mosley has said enough. That is the view of Bernie Ecclestone, who along with CVC Capital Partners, the majority shareholders of F1’s commercial rights, was on the receiving end of Mosley’s vivid imagination in a letter last week to the presidents of FIA member clubs.
“Poor old Max. I feel sorry for him,” Ecclestone said. “Everybody’s wrong except him. Everybody was involved in the orgy except him. He is just lashing out at anything he can. If he wants me to be the enemy he should be very careful because if he makes me an enemy I could make sure that he never whips anybody again.
“What he says in the letter is wrong. He is saying ‘you have to keep me, I’m the only one who can do the job’. There are 222 clubs. That is what the FIA does, it administers clubs. The FIA could not function without F1. What Max is saying to the clubs is that they are idiots, that not one of them could do the job. I’d be insulted if I were them. Normally Max is more together instead of making silly, outrageous mistakes. Somebody from one of the more important clubs rang me to speak about the letter. He thought it was outrageous.”
Gerhard Berger has become one of the few Formula One individuals to speak openly about the ongoing Max Mosley sex scandal saga, and came out in support of the under-fire FIA president on the eve of the Monaco Grand Prix.
“I never commented [before] because I think it’s an entirely private thing, I think there is nothing to comment on,” the Austrian insisted, “It’s something that has happened with grown-up people, nothing which is against the law. I have to say I’m very surprised how many angels there are around here, especially in Formula One. Suddenly, everyone seems to be very clean and very nice….
“To connect this to the job, as FIA president, I don’t think is right. I’ve been in Formula One a long time now, I’ve seen many things. I’ve been racing in the Max Mosley era and, in the position that I’m in now. I think there are very few people - maybe nobody - who has had such an impact on safety for motorsport as Max.
“I just know one thing…. The sport needs a strong guy, a competitive guy, a strong guy who understands the business, and we definitely have this with Max. Hopefully, we will have in the future. That’s all I want to say.”
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