Mosley is told: Quit now or be driven out

Stewart has been a guest here at the palace of Bahrain's Crown Prince, Shaikh Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, who made the first telling move against Mosley by telling him he was not welcome at today's grand prix.

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Now Sir Jackie, three times the world champion, believes 67-year-old Mosley is likely to be barred from attending grand prix races around the world. And that, says Stewart, will make the president's position untenable.

Stewart said: "I think that policy will be picked up, whether it is in Spain, where King Juan Carlos will almost certainly be in attendance at their grand prix in two weeks' time, or in other countries on other continents where the culture, religion or moral standing would not allow Mosley's presence.

"His position is clearly untenable. He has to step down."

The pressure on Mosley moved closer to breaking point when the powerful American Automobile Association, the largest motoring organisation in the world affiliated to the FIA, demanded he should quit.

Motoring organisations in Germany, Holland and Israel had called for him to resign 24 hours earlier, following statements of disquiet from four of Formula One's most prominent stakeholders, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Toyota and Honda.

Last night Mosley, whose sexual antics were exposed on video film shown across the world, was warned to brace himself for further revelations about his private life, while Stewart insisted that Mosley's refusal to resign was damaging Formula One.

Stewart said: "Mosley is supposed to be the protector of the sport. Frankly, in his own mind he has to start recognising that this could be affecting an awful lot of other people beyond himself. The statements from Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Toyota and Honda, as well as the country of Bahrain, are quite clear.

"Had he been the head of the International Olympic Committee, or the PGA or LTA, or come to that the CBI, it's hard to imagine he would not have gone by now. I just don't see how anyone in his position would see himself capable of saying: 'I'm going to stay'. There's a commercial factor to be considered as well. There are maybe some sponsors who may be sensitive in his presence."

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone is not deaf to the gathering storm and he will not place his multi-billion dollar business on the line for the sake of Mosley, even if the FIA president has been a friend for almost 40 years.

"It's not what I think, it's what other people think," said Ecclestone. Mosley has abandoned plans to launch an FIA anti-racism campaign in two weeks' time at the Spanish Grand in Barcelona and he has dropped a lawsuit against former Formula One driver Martin Brundle, now a respected broadcaster and columnist, who Mosley had accused of waging a 'witch-hunt' against him.

Yet Mosley, whose father, Sir Oswald Mosley, led the British Fascist Party and married Diana Mitford in Berlin in the presence of Adolf Hitler, tried to justify remaining in office yesterday.

"Had I been caught driving excessively fast on a public road, or over the alcohol limit, I should have resigned the same day," argued Mosley.

"As it is, a scandal paper obtained by illegal means pictures of something I did in private which, although unacceptable to some people, was harmless and completely legal.

"Many people do things in their bedrooms, or have personal habits which others find repugnant. But as long as they keep them private, nobody objects."

Mosley's comments were made in a letter to Peter Meyer, president of Germany's automobile club, ADAC, which was sent to all FIA member clubs, members of the World Motor Sport Council, members of the FIA Senate and members of the World Council for Automobile Mobility and Tourism.

"The offence seems to be not what I did, but the fact that it became public," wrote Mosley. "I was the victim of a disgusting conspiracy."

Mosley insisted that allegations of a Nazi element to his behaviour was "pure fabrication". He added: "This will become crystal clear when the matter comes to trial. This was invented in order to spice up the story and introduce my family background."

Mosley is hoping to place his views before an extraordinary general assembly meeting of the FIA in Paris, where 222 affiliated clubs representing 134 countries, will vote on his future.

The meeting will not be held before June, which means Formula One could remain engulfed in an embarrassing scandal for the next two months. It is a situation Ecclestone is unlikely to allow to prevail.

Yesterday, the American Automobile Association placed their vote in the public arena with a withering condemnation of the beleaguered FIA president.

"While this matter may be viewed as private by some, the damage to the image of the FIA and its constituents is clearly public,"' said Yolanda Clark Cade, from AAA.

"For an organisation — and its leader — to exercise the moral authority required to represent millions of motorists and sanction the activities of motorsport they must uphold the highest standards of ethical behaviour.

"After careful consideration, the AAA have conveyed to Mr Mosley that it would be in the interests of all concerned if he were to step down."

Mosley is not paid by the FIA, but the office affords him enormous power.

As chairman of the FIA's World Motor Sport Council, he imposed a £50 million fine on McLaren Mercedes last autumn after the British team were found guilty of being in possession of material that was the intellectual property of Ferrari.

The scale of the fine stunned Formula One. But McLaren chief Ron Dennis met Mosley's public disgrace yesterday with a straight bat.

"This team are not involved and I am not personally involved," he said. "I have no further comment."