The backlash against Max begins.

[Scott]

Well said, Cos, and in a perfect world (in particular, one free of the internet)...

Nobody can question Max's job performance, so it seems.  I believe that he has done the sport plenty of harm by his inequal handling of various situations in F1 throughout the years - yet like you point out with regards to the Indy 2005 debacle, he was not shown the door, mainly because it's HIS door.

Although my posts are riddled with my own gleeful comments on the Max farce, most of them are filled with comments by stakeholders in the sport.  Since F1 is primarily a sponsored entertainment, those sponsors provide the backbone of the financial side of F1, employing thousands of people and entertaining millions of fans.  Being associated with F1 is their perogative, and if they decide that it is being run by someone they don't want to associate with, that is also their perogative.  Simply put, and as much as many - like Bernie - have often disagreed with the possibility of, it is BAD PUBLICITY.  Because of this, they can, and should, force him out.  

And I will be glad...however it happens.

[Steven Roy]

The way I see it they have caught him red-handed.  They have printed and filmed what he did.  He has denied a part of it and is indulging in mud-slinging at all and sundry.  BMW and Mercedes have had their record from WWII dredged up.  I am sure that is not what they expect from the person who heads up the organisation that represents their industry.

He has be aimless slining mud at people organising a conspiracy against him.  He is persona non grata in Bahrain.  He has 4 of the 6 manufacturers in F1 against him.  Ferrari won't put the boot in and who knows what Renault will do.

He has spent the last few years persecuting people with little or no evidence so it is no good him now claiming that the case against him has the odd alleged error in it.

He is the ex-President.  He has ceased to exist.  It's just that Bernie hasn't told him yet.  My revised guess would be Tuesday or Wednesday.

[Dare]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=9hHa5C8YU8s

[TheStig]

So that is where Ferrari got the idea for the hole in the nosecone from.

TheStig

[cosworth151]

This just came in on AutoWeek's Daily Drive e-newsletter:

FIA president Max Mosley on Thursday asked for an extraordinary general assembly meeting of the FIA to address the sex scandal that has enveloped him and the international racing community this week.

Mosley's call for the meeting comes in the wake of critical statements issued by Formula One manufacturers BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Honda and Toyota. A meeting date has not been set.

"The full membership of the FIA will be invited to attend the meeting at which the widespread publicity following an apparently illegal invasion of the FIA president's privacy will be discussed," the FIA said in a statement. The FIA noted that Mr. Mosley is preparing legal proceedings against the News of the World, which broke the sex scandal story.

"It is anticipated that the meeting will take place in Paris. It will be held on the earliest practicable date. No further comments will be made by the FIA regarding the matter at this stage," the statement said.

I don't see this happening until after Bahrain, so it looks like Max is safe until at least next week.

[Scott]

Unless Bernie thinks that will be too late.

[Steven Roy]

At the start of the week there was one video on youtube and that was pulled due to NOTW copyright.  I guess a few people made copies.

He must know by now that he can't carry on but he has always been delusional and detached from reality.  Bernie and Piccinini will explain things to him over the weekend and the car manufacturers will let him know what they think.

At the EGM all he can do is ask for a vote of confidence or resign.  I would guess a few people will be preparing for the election when he goes.

[Alianora La Canta]

Due to some fairly obscure rules, the EGA has to be between 35 and 42 days of the invitation being extended, putting this meeting at mid-May. It doesn't have the remit to do votes of confidence and Max is unlikely to allow anyone in the FIA Senate to put an expulsion vote on the agenda. Also, there is no sense in Max calling an EGA just to resign - he can do that when he likes and control how he resigns without needing anyone else's say-so. This is probably an attacking EGA (perhaps tightening the rules on the media, which does require General Assembly consent) rather than a defensive one.

[Chameleon]

It's Max playing for time while appearing to respond to the manufacturer's demand for immediate action.  Hopefully the manufacturers will see through this obvious ploy and repeat that they want action now, not in six weeks time.  Every day that Max manages to hang on more damage is being done to the sport.  Max could not care less about that, he wants only to hang on to his little fiefdom.  The man must go immediately.

[Scott]

The German press is going to town about Max trying to draw them into the whole affair by referring to their participation in and before WWII.  Theissen said that they issued their statement to clarify their position on the matter, and besides, Max had not tried to contact them to make any clarification, so why is the onus on them to find out from him??

Methinks Max is going down today, but if not, he will not make it to next Wednesday.  FIA meeting or not.  Word is that Hermann Tomczyk is the heir apparent...not Tony Purnell.

[FW14B]

Autosport again:

The ADAC, Germany's national motoring body, has written to FIA president Max Mosley asking him to 'reconsider' his position in the wake of the controversy over his private life.

Mosley has called an extraordinary meeting of the FIA membership to discuss the fallout from the tabloid revelations that have dominated headlines in recent days. It is understood Mosley wants to hold the meeting to provide 'total clarity' on the situation for members of motor racing's governing body.

With car manufacturers BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Honda and Toyota having issued statements in Bahrain expressing their concern about the revelations made by the News of the World last weekend, now ADAC has also voiced its own worries about the impact of the affair.

In a statement issued by the organisation, it confirmed that it had written to Mosley asking him to consider his future, as it did not feel it appropriate he could continue in his role against the backdrop of the scandal.

The release said: "In a letter to FIA president Max Mosley, the ADAC has distanced itself from events surrounding his person. According to the ADAC, the role of an FIA president who represents more than 100 million motorists worldwide should not be burdened by such an affair. Therefore, we ask the president to 'very carefully reconsider his role within the organisation'.

"According to the ADAC, the appropriate FIA process has to take care of the matter. It is in the interests of this world organisation to carry on with its duties without the burden of this affair."

Mosley wrote to all FIA national bodies, including the ADAC, earlier this week to apologise for any embarrassment that the affair had caused. He made it clear, however, that he had no intention of stepping down from his position because of what had happened.

"I have received a very large number of messages of sympathy and support from those within the FIA and the motor sport and motoring communities generally, suggesting that my private life is not relevant to my work and that I should continue in my role," wrote Mosley in the letter.

"I am grateful and with your support I intend to follow this advice."

[Scott]

From F1 Live

Any remaining support for embattled FIA President Max Mosley withered bare on Sunday, as the Formula One world rested from the sex scandal for 91 minutes to take in the Bahrain Grand Prix.

It was a day that went from worse to hopeless for the 67-year-old Briton, who - barred from the event by the royal family - watched from one of his homes in Europe as Felipe Massa win the Sakhir race.

F1 Chief Executive Bernie Ecclestone, whose refusal to condemn his long-time friend thus far was a lingering hope for Mosley, cancelled a scheduled interview spot with the British broadcaster ITV - another sign that the writing is already on the wall.

Ecclestone's deafening refusal to clearly back Mosley may have been motivated by the conspicuous presence in the paddock on Sunday of Sir Fred Goodwin and Arun Sarin - respectively the biggest bigwigs of the major F1 team sponsors RBS and Vodafone.

"It's an FIA matter but we're watching it closely," Goodwin told the Daily Mail after a meeting with Ecclestone.

A writer for the Daily Telegraph observed: "Ecclestone has privately accepted his old comrade has to go, but was hoping he would not be required to handle the instrument of execution.   
 
Now, he has no choice."

Meanwhile, the Australian federation reportedly joined the growing mound of Mosley opposition, as did the highest ranking motor racing official in Spain, Carlos Gracia.

"It is clear that this is a very unpleasant affair that is deteriorating the image of motor racing," he told the Spanish radio station Cadena SER from Bahrain.

Even those who had previously and historically supported Mosley are having to change their minds, as it becomes obvious that resignation is the only cure to one of F1's biggest ever scandals.

"If Max starts to think about things without emotion, then there can be only one conclusion - he has to resign," said former triple world champion Niki Lauda.

[Scott]

From Planet F1

'Max has painted motorsport in a bad light'
Tuesday 8th April 2008
 
Mike Gascoyne believes it is incumbent on Max Mosley to consider his position as president of the FIA following a scandal he feels has "painted motorsport in a very bad light".


Gascoyne is a respected figure in the Formula One paddock as he has been involved at the highest level of the sport for 19 years.


His CV is an impressive one as he has worked at McLaren, Tyrrell, Sauber, Jordan, Benetton, Toyota and Spyker, with his latest role technical director at Force India.


With the exception of four major manufacturers in Mercedes, BMW, Honda and Toyota, who all made their views plain last week, the remainder of F1 has shied away from the subject of Mosley.


The allegations in the News of the World about Mosley, who is the figurehead of motor sport and motoring communities across the world, have led to various organisations and personalities calling for him to resign.


Although Gascoyne falls short of joining such a chorus, he is at least willing to offer an opinion when so many have stayed silent.


Insisting his views are from a personal perspective, and not those of the team, he said: "It's a great shame. We've a fantastic season of motor racing, and we're all talking about something other than that.


"I think any person in that position has to consider the impact of their actions.


"As a head of a worldwide body, you have to consider whether that is appropriate, and I don't think it is. I'm sure most people agree.


"The problem we have is that if he wishes to stay it will devalue his office.


"It's true that what anyone does in their private life should be their own business, but the fact is it has been exposed, and you can't undo that.


"It is painting the whole of motorsport in a very bad light, and in my mind, someone in that position has to consider that position.


"Generally, I've always found Max a perfectly pleasant, charming guy, and as I say, what he wants to do in his private life is up to him.


"But as a public figure, given this is now in the public domain, rightly or wrongly, you then have to act accordingly."

[Scott]

An interesting read - the history of Max Mosley

Lifted from F1 Insight (Pink Peril)

http://www.sportspromedia.com/mosley.htm

to be taken with a grain of salt...

[Alianora La Canta]

In case anyone wasn't convinced that Max Mosley is playing for time to try riding out the storm, he's appointed a PR firm to "help" his case.

Sorry, if his case needs a PR firm, it's not that good!