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Max Mosley stands down as F1 agrees a peace deal
Andrew Hodgson24.06.09
The power struggle that threatened to tear Formula One apart appeared to end in total victory for the rebel teams, when FIA president Max Mosley said he would relinquish control of the sport.
The threat of a rival championship running alongside the FIA series next season has been averted after agreement was reached between the FIA, motor sport's world governing body, and the Formula One Teams Association, who had challenged the way Mosley ran the sport and demanded that his proposed £40million spending cap on all F1 teams for next season was scrapped.
Mosley had threatened to sue the rebels when they announced their rival series last week and as late as last night had suggested that he would stand for re-election as president unless they backed off. But this morning, a peace deal was thrashed out in Paris and Mosley confirmed he will officially stand down when his fourth term ends in October.
He also agreed to hand over control immediately to the FIA Senate president Michel Boeri, who will now work with FOTA to put together a united plan for the future. There was agreement reached on cost-cutting but the £40m budget cap proposed by Mosley has been scrapped and the rebel teams, Ferrari, McLaren, BMW Sauber, Renault, Toyota, Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Brawn GP, have been told they can retain total control of their own costs.
Confirming the compromise, Mosley said: “There will be no split. We have agreed to a reduction of costs.
“There will be one F1 championship but the objective is to get back to the spending levels of the early Nineties within two years.” With regard to his own position, Mosley added: “I will not be up for re-election, now we have peace.”
The agreement ends two months of wrangling since Mosley announced that a voluntary £40m budget cap would be imposed from next season. That prompted the eight teams to announce last week that they would run a rival series.
Following today's meeting, F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone commented that he was “very happy commonsense has prevailed”.
Mosley, 69, had announced yesterday in a letter written to all FIA member clubs he was prepared to stand again as president.
Mosley felt it vital to defend himself against what he saw was “unnecessary criticism” from “the dissident teams”.
On the opposing side today was Luca di Montezemolo, the Ferrari president and FOTA chairman who has been Mosley's main critic.
Mosley had apparently made it clear if Di Montezemolo's approach was not antagonistic, then he would use the platform of today's meeting to confirm he would not run again for the presidency.
Reader views (10)
This guy is so desperate to save face he is trying to tell us he is going out on his own terms and timeline! What a joke. Mate the sport will be a lot better without you. Lets get some pragmatism in there and appint Jackie Stewart (although i think he is done with the top level).
- William Bailey, wgtn
Max is probably a bit ahead of times. In a world where almost everyone goes 'green' and even 'greener' though many make a lot of money out of it, he has seen the writing on the wall. Eventually the formula one will be phased out or re-placed by electric cars with more or less the same HP (or rather clean KW)It's a pity for many of us...born during the time when motorcars were a young boy's dream.
- Wernli Paul, Richmond, B.C. Canada
Only the future will tell if Max is still going to be missed.As they say : "bad with him , worst without"...
- Fiona, Rio de Janeiro-Brazil
I wonder who will replace mad Max? Preferably someone who believes that motor sport shouldn't be like a game of chess but should include overtaking! Remember that? I think it was banned some years ago.
- Jj, London
Where does he live? The local “toy” shops will be kept busy now that he has so much time on his hands!
- St, London
It is a long time since F1 was a motor racing sport. All it problems without exception in recent years have been as a result of the sport being hijacked by the motor manufacturers.
Once the motor manufacturers moved in this high technology sport, has been devalued year on year on their insistence on more and more conformity to drive out the smaller teams that might just outthink them.
The FIA and Max are of course a problem but the motor manufacturers are a bigger one.
- Ian, Reading, England
Maybe Bernie should join Max and Ron (Dennis) in the Silverstone rest home and let the next generation run F1. I would like to suggest Luca di Montezemolo and Flavio Biatore. Perhaps then some of the daft regulation changes such 'made for TV' qualifying and two tyre compounds per could be dropped. Also we might see a stop to the introduction of dull featureless tracks.
- Man U Fan, London
I just love the way Max has spun this one. His quote is priceless "I will not be up for re-election, now we have peace.” Of course, we all know the only reason we now have peace is because Max is NOT standing for re-election. I expect ol' Bernie had a word in his shell-like.
- Paul Morgan, London, UK
Now Mosley is going perhaps we can all get back to enjoying motor racing at some of the historic European tracks, including Silverstone
- Rod Gray, Berwick upon Tweed
I will personally contribute £100 pounds to each team that is prepared to face down Mosley on this issue. A world wide fund should be created by FOTA to fund the expected court actions that Mosley will inevitably take against them.
- Jonathan Abery, torquay uk
