Mosley hoping to stand down in 2009

FIA President Max Mosley has revealed he intends to stand down from the position in 2009, even if he survives a vote of confidence later this year. FIA members from around the world will meet in Paris on June 3 to discuss the impact of allegations concerning Mosley’s private life made in the British tabloid press.

In the first interview he has given concerning the allegations, Mosley told British broadsheet the Sunday Telegraph that it had always been his plan not to run for re-election next October. He said he now intends to give June’s General Assembly the facts and leave it to them to decide whether they affect his ability to carry out the responsibilities of his post.

“If they wish me to continue, I will continue, if they don`t, I`ll stop,” he said. “But I will also say to them that it was always my intention, because it is, that I was never going to go beyond 2009. I kept quiet about that because the lesson with (former British Prime Minister) Tony Blair is, the day you say you`re going to stop, you lose your influence.”

Mosley, 68, is pursuing legal action against the paper that published the allegations. Asked why he has ignored calls for his resignation over the stories, elements of which he described as “a deliberate and cold-blooded lie”, Mosley reiterated his belief that his personal life has no impact on his professional ability, insisting that he has a responsibility to those who elected him, a huge number of whom, he says, have already given him their support in the matter.

“For every letter I`ve had from a club president saying `I think you should step down` or `I think you should consider your position`, I`ve had seven, slightly more than seven, who said `you`ve absolutely got to stay, don`t give an inch`, and `this is the most outrageous invasion`, and suggesting that there`s more to this than meets the eye, which of course there may be.

“It would then be impossible to turn around to all these people, the great majority, and say, `no I`m going to walk away`, even if I`m inclined to. But my inclination is to stay and fight.”

Mosley has been President of the FIA since 1993.

21.4.2008   ▪ Formula One    ▪ Mosley    ▪ www.formula1.com