Last Auto News Blog: formula1

Max Mosley has been head of the FIA for 15 years. Earlier this year, he pledged that when his term ends next year, he would step down - and that was before the infamous sex scandal. Yet even after the turpitude, Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone - whose Christmas card brought the whole thing up again - noted there was no way that Max would step down, saying, "I've always said that Max will be the president until he dies" because he believes Mosley enjoys confrontation and power.

From the looks of it, Mosley is beginning to prove Ecclestone correct. The FIA president has now said that he will wait until next June to decide whether he will step down or not. That's only three months before his term ends, and unless a challenger decides to campaign while Mosley deliberates, it's unlikely that 90 days would be enough to unseat Lord Mosley. According to Ecclestone, Mosley won the vote of confidence after the sex scandal after bribing representatives from third world countries to back him. Between his power and political skill, it's hard to believe that Max will vacate his post until he decides to do it himself.

[Source: The Guardian]

F1 President Max Mosley postponing retirement plans? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 26 Dec 2008 07:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | | |

Filed under: Motorsports, Ferrari

Anyone who's watched the trials and tribulations of Formula 1 over the last few years knows that Bernie Ecclestone usually keeps to himself. But if you provoke him, he'll always say exactly what he thinks -- and it's usually more than you'd hoped for. That appears to have happened yet again after Ferrari head Luca de Montezemolo told a group of journalists that he thought it might be time for Bernie to step down, give the F1 teams more money and stop holding races in far-flung places "just because they have a nice skyline."

More specifically, Montezemolo said "In terms of revenue, we want to know more about them. Theoretically, like in other professional sports, like basketball in the USA, we can have a league made by us and appoint a good league manager to run our own business. Because it is our own business." Ecclestone's reply essentially amounted to: "Shut up." He said that Ferrari's loyalty was bought during the breakaway threat of a couple years ago, when the teams threatened to leave F1 over a dispute with the new Concorde Agreement. Ferrari was the first one to break rank, and Ecclestone says that was done because Ferrari was promised about "$80 million more when they win the constructor's championship."

As for revenues, Ecclestone said that Ferrari, like any other team, can check the books whenever it wants. And as for far-flung races, with CVC Capital Partners still in huge debt from buying into the series, the number-one goal now is to go where the money is. That probably means more races in Asia than Europe, and more nice skylines for the time being. As far as we're concerned, if it brings more passing, we're on board.

[Source: Autosport]

Ferrari and Ecclestone at odds on how Formula 1 should be run originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Dec 2008 07:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | | |