Max Mosley opens a can of worms.

[Bagwan]

If the FIA risks losing control of F1 then it is a result of MM's actions. His stubborn refusal to accept the "damage" a scandal of his own making has done to the standing of the FIA, and his personal responsibility for that, is at the core of the current situation.

You only have to look at what will be happening at the Monaco GP. Max will be in Monaco, but his deputy, Marco Piccinini, will be the governing body's representative at official functions so as to avoid any possible embarrassment to the Monaco royal family.

Why will the FIA President not represent the FIA at F1's jewel in the crown event? Because he has already lost any authority & standing in F1 (and motorsport as a whole). Should the FIA delegates vote to keep him as their President then that authority & standing will not be restored.

Now , it's not fetched too far , to assume that this wasn't the first time Max engaged in this kind of activity .
The Monaco royal family has shaken the hand that held that whip many times in the past , with no apparent repercussions .

It could be said that the "scandal of his own making" , was no scandal until it was caught on film , and that film was commissioned by someone who had an axe to grind .

That mysterious party created the scandal , at a time the decision about customer engines looms , and closing teams are reality . Unprecedented fines for espionage , ridiculous rules , questionable stewarding , and a boat-load of money , have created a litany of possibilties as to who did actually foot the bill .

It's a big world , but these folks run around a pretty gated community , and it has to occur to one eventually , that there might be other clients of the "agency" who might be nervous here .
You'd have to imagine that the girls used in these circles would have to come with some credentials , and I don't think it's a stretch to assume that others in the FIA or the paddock might have interest in finding out who paid for the pics .
Who knows how many others in that crowd have held that same whip ? The dissatisfaction with Max , for some , may be that he was clumsy enough to be caught , exposing the ugly underbelly of the rich .


Sure , this is a scandal , but one that his nothing to do with F1 , or how Max functions in his job .
The deputy can handle it , and Max can be as good as there anyway , in the background .

Max will stay .

[yodasarmpit]

He'd make a good politician

[Azumanga Davo]

He'd make a good politician

Chief Whip was a position he was born to have.

[Knock-on]

Spot on

Max insists he's done nothing wrong but daren't show his face at offical functions for fear of embarassing royals. He's incapable of doing his job properly and should step down.

When a resident of the country and head of the FIA cannot represent the FIA at his home GP, it's a bloody mess.

Max will probably say he wasn't planning to represent the FIA in front of the Royal family or something similar. Who'e to bet on "prior engagement"

This man is a farce.

[markabilly]

With the price of oil going up and up, there will be some major changes, sooner or later, as to how business is done, and Max has a point on that.

As to the other, well, if bernie wanted to NOT have the FIA involved in his series, then that would happen, whenever he wanted it. But i think bernie needs the fia for various reasons of legitimatcy. OTOH, the comments show that it is all about the money, and Bernie's desire to make as much as possible, as in conflict with max's desires to have as much control as possible through the FIA....most interesting---will there be more light shed on the back door dealings of power, or is this stuff just a smokescreen:

In the letter, a copy of which has been seen by autosport.com, Mosley reveals that he, on behalf of the FIA, is battling with F1 commercial rights holders Bernie Ecclestone and financial backers CVC for control of F1, and thinks it vital he sees out those discussions.

In fact, he thinks the negotiations are so important that: "it would be irresponsible, even a breach of duty, to walk away from (them)."

In the letter, Mosley reveals: "We are in the middle of a renegotiations of the 100 year commercial agreement between the FIA and the Formula One Commercial Rights Holder (CRH). In effect, this agreement governs Formula One.

"The CRH originally asked us to accept changes to the agreement in order to reduce the CRH's liability to tax. These we can probably concede. But the CRH has also now asked for control over the F1 regulations and the right to sell the business to anyone - in effect to take over F1 completely. I do not believe the FIA should agree to this.

"To do so would be to abandon core elements of the FIA's patrimony including, for example, our ability to protect the traditional grands prix. We would also be weaker financially but, even more importantly, we would put at risk the viability of the FIA as the regulatory authority of international motor sport and lose a valuable communication platform for the wider interests of the organisation."

[Azumanga Davo]

My belief is that the FIA f***** about with the Supertruck category in the late nineties until that all but disappeared as a class. Don't let the same happen to F1.

[ArrowsFA1]

Now , it's not fetched too far , to assume that this wasn't the first time Max engaged in this kind of activity .
The Monaco royal family has shaken the hand that held that whip many times in the past , with no apparent repercussions .

It could be said that the "scandal of his own making" , was no scandal until it was caught on film , and that film was commissioned by someone who had an axe to grind.

All quite possibly true, but the can of worms is open and MM's actions are now public knowledge. Whatever the rights and wrongs of his actions, and how details of his private life were obtained, that cannot be undone.

Max should clearly be able to pursue his case against the NOTW, and anyone else he thinks responsible for his current situation, but if he does so while remaining as FIA President that office, and the FIA itself, will continue to be associated with MM's private life and further damaged as a result.

Sure , this is a scandal , but one that his nothing to do with F1 , or how Max functions in his job .

If it had nothing to do with F1, or how Max functions in his job, the FIA President would have been at the Bahrain GP, in Israel to discuss the development of motorsport there, and would not be skipping official functions in Monaco.

[Hondo]

You think Max was smart enough to have every letter just a little bit different so he could know where the leak to the media came from?

[all13d]

This clown really needs to go. Honestly, enough is enough.

[ioan]

He's not stupid at all, he's playing all his cards in the best way possible.
I, for one, hope he stays, because he is the one that did most for F1, like it or not. And because I don't care about his private life.