Max Mosley
Encyclopedia
Max Rufus Mosley is the former president of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
(FIA), a non-profit association that represents the interests of motoring organisations and car users worldwide. The FIA is also the governing body
for Formula One
and other international motorsports
.
A former barrister
and amateur racing driver, Mosley was a founder and co-owner of March Engineering
, a successful racing car constructor and Formula One racing team. He dealt with legal and commercial matters for the company between 1969 and 1977. In the late 1970s, Mosley became the official legal adviser to the Formula One Constructors Association
(FOCA), the body that represents Formula One constructors. In this role he drew up the first version of the Concorde Agreement
, which settled a long-standing dispute
between FOCA and the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile
(FISA), the then governing body of Formula One. Mosley was elected president of FISA in 1991 and became president of the FIA, FISA's parent body, in 1993. Mosley has identified his major achievement as FIA President as the promotion of the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP or Encap), a European car safety
performance assessment programme. He has also promoted increased safety and the use of green technologies in motor racing. In 2008, stories about his sex life appeared in the British press. Despite the controversy, Mosley retained his position. He stood down at the end of his term in 2009 and was replaced by his preferred successor, Jean Todt
.
Mosley is the youngest son of Sir Oswald Mosley
, Bart, former leader of the British Union of Fascists
(BUF), and Diana Mitford
. He was educated in France, Germany and Britain before going on to attend university at Christ Church, Oxford
, where he graduated with a degree in physics. In his teens and early twenties Mosley was involved with his father's post-war political party, the Union Movement
(UM). He has said that the association of his surname with fascism stopped him from developing his interest in politics further, although he briefly worked for the Conservative Party
in the early 1980s.
was a Labour
minister, and a Member of Parliament for both the Conservative
and Labour parties in the 1920s. By the 1930s, he had left mainstream politics and become the leader of the British Union of Fascists
(BUF). His first wife died in 1933, and in 1936 Sir Oswald married Diana Mitford
, in a ceremony in Germany attended by Joseph Goebbels
and Adolf Hitler
. Max was born in London in April 1940 during the early stages of the Second World War. In May, Sir Oswald, who had campaigned for a negotiated peace with Nazi Germany
, was interned by the British Authorities under Defence Regulation 18B
, along with most other active fascists in Britain. Lady Mosley was imprisoned a month later. Max and his brother Alexander were not included in this internship and as a result were separated from their parents for the first few years of their lives. In December 1940, then-prime minister Winston Churchill
, who knew Lady Mosley socially, asked Home Secretary
Herbert Morrison
to ensure Lady Mosley was able to see Max—whom she had christened the Entschlossener (the determined one)—regularly.
Sir Oswald and Lady Mosley were released from detention at HMP Holloway
on 16 November 1943, provoking widespread public protests. Their children were refused entry to several schools, due to a combination of their wildness and their parents' reputation, and were initially tutored at home. The family moved to a succession of country houses in England. Mosley's older half-brother Nicholas describes the family, including Sir Oswald’s children from his first marriage, spending the summer of 1945 getting the harvest in and shooting at Crowood Farm. In 1950, the Mosleys bought houses in the Republic of Ireland, and in Orsay, near Paris. The family spent the year moving around Europe, spending the spring in France and the autumn and winter in Ireland, where Mosley was keen on riding and hunting. His aunt Nancy Mitford
, in letters to Evelyn Waugh
, recalled Sir Oswald and his family cruising the Mediterranean sea on the family yacht. On one such trip they visited Spain and were entertained by Sir Oswald's friend, General Franco.
Initially Mosley was educated in France, then at the age of 13 he was sent to Stein an der Traun
in Germany for two years, where he learned to speak fluent German. On his return to England he was educated at Millfield
, an independent boarding school in Somerset. He attended Christ Church
at Oxford University, graduating with a degree in physics in 1961. During his time there he was Secretary of the Oxford Union
. In 1961, Mosley campaigned under the slogan "Free speech for fascists" when his father's invitation to speak at the Union was opposed. Shortly afterwards, Mosley introduced his father to Robert Skidelsky, one of Mosley's contemporaries at the university, who later wrote Sir Oswald's biography. Rejecting an early ambition to work as a physicist after "establishing that there was no money in it", Mosley went on to study law at Gray's Inn
in London, specialising in patent and trademark law, and qualified as a barrister
in 1964. Northumbria University
awarded Mosley an Honorary Doctorate of Civil Law
in 2005. During the early 1960s, Mosley was also a member of the Territorial Army, training as a parachutist.
Mosley, like many of Formula One's drivers, lives in Monaco. On 9 June 1960 he married at the Chelsea Register Office Jean Taylor, the daughter of James Taylor, a policeman from Streatham
. In 1970 their first son, Alexander, was born and in 1972 their second son, Patrick. On 5 May 2009, Alexander, a restaurateur
, was found dead at his home. He was thirty-nine. At an inquest on 10 June 2009 the Westminster coroner declared that he had died due to cocaine intoxication
.
In addition to his full-brother Alexander, Mosley has five older half-siblings. On his father's side they are Vivien Mosley (1921–2002), novelist Nicholas Mosley, 3rd Baron Ravensdale, and Michael Mosley (born 1932). On his mother's side they are merchant banker, Jonathan Guinness, 3rd Baron Moyne
, and Irish preservationist Desmond Guinness
.
(UM), which advocated a united Europe
as its core issue. Trevor Grundy, a central figure in the UM's Youth Movement, writes of the 16-year-old Mosley painting the flash and circle
symbol on walls in London on the night of the Soviet Union
's invasion of Hungary (4 November 1956). The flash and circle was used by both the UM and the pre-war BUF. He also says Mosley organised a couple of large parties as a way "to get in with lively, ordinary, normal young people, girls as well as boys, and attract them to the Movement by showing that we were like them and didn't go on about Hitler and Mussolini, Franco and British Fascism all the time." Mosley met his future wife Jean at such a party. Mosley and Alexander were photographed posing as Teddy Boys in Notting Hill during the 1958 race riots between Afro-Caribbeans and local white gangs of Teddy Boys. The following year, they canvassed
for their father when he ran as a Union Movement candidate for the nearby Kensington North
seat in the 1959 General Election
. Sir Oswald used racist rhetoric during the campaign, which was run largely on anti-immigration issues.
Mosley was later an election agent
for the Union Movement, supporting Walter Hesketh as parliamentary candidate for Moss Side
in 1962. The motor racing journalist Alan Henry
describes him as one of his father's "right-hand men" at the time of a violent incident in 1962, in which Sir Oswald was knocked down by a mob in London and saved from serious injury by his son's intervention. As a result of his involvement in this fracas, Mosley was arrested and charged with threatening behaviour. He was later cleared at Old Street Magistrates' Court
on the grounds that he was trying to protect his father. In 1964, Mosley himself was a prospective UM candidate.
In the early 1980s, Mosley attempted a political career, working for the UK Conservative Party and hoping to become a parliamentary candidate. Bernie Ecclestone
's biographer, Terry Lovell, writes that he gave up this aspiration after being unimpressed by "the calibre of senior party officials". He also felt his name would be a handicap and has since said "If I had a completely open choice in my life, I would have chosen party politics, but because of my name, that's impossible." By the late 1990s he had become a supporter of the UK Labour Party.
at the Silverstone circuit
. The circuit was not far from Oxford
, and the couple went out of curiosity. Mosley was attracted by the sport, and when his career as a barrister was bringing in sufficient money, he started racing cars himself. The sport's indifference to his background appealed to Mosley:
At national level in the UK, Mosley competed in over 40 races in 1966 and 1967; he won 12 and set several class lap records
. In 1968, he formed the London Racing Team in partnership with driver Chris Lambert to compete in European Formula Two
, the level of racing just below Formula One. Their cars were prepared by Frank Williams, later a Formula One team owner. It was a dangerous time to race. Early in the year, Mosley competed in the 1968 Deutschland Trophäe
, the Formula Two race at Hockenheim
in which double world champion Jim Clark
was killed, and within two years both of Mosley's 1968 team mates were dead in racing accidents. Mosley's best result that year was an eighth place at a non-championship race at Monza
. Engine builder Brian Hart
says that as a driver, Mosley "might not have been particularly quick, but he was a thinking driver. He kept out of trouble and generally used his head."
In 1969, after two large accidents due to breakages on his Lotus
car, Mosley decided that "it was evident that I wasn't going to be World Champion" and retired from driving. He was already working with Robin Herd
, Alan Rees
and Graham Coaker
to establish the racing car manufacturer March Engineering
where he handled legal and commercial matters. The name March is an acronym based on the initials of the founders; the 'M' stands for Mosley. Like the other founders, Mosley put in £2,500 of capital. His father told him that the company "would certainly go bankrupt, but it would be good experience for a later career."
Mosley played a key role in publicising the new outfit. Although March had few resources and limited experience, the firm announced ambitious plans to enter Formula One, the pinnacle of single-seater racing, in 1970. The team had initially intended to enter a single car, but by the beginning of the season (partly due to deals made by Mosley), the number of March cars entered for their first Formula One race had risen to five. Two of these were run by March's own in-house works team and the rest by customer teams. Mosley also negotiated sponsorship from tyre maker Firestone
and oil additive
manufacturer STP
.
The new operation was initially successful. In Formula One, March cars won three of their first four races. One of these was a world championship race, the 1970 Spanish Grand Prix
, won by reigning world champion Jackie Stewart
in a customer car run by Tyrrell Racing
. As a result, March finished third in the 1970 Constructors' Championship. The factory also sold 40 cars to customers in various lower formulae. Despite these successes, the organisation got into financial difficulty almost immediately. The Formula One operation was costing more than the customer car business was making. The March works team's contract with its lead driver, Chris Amon
, was expensive, and Mosley, in his own words, "tried at every opportunity to get rid of him". He reasoned that Stewart's highly competitive customer car was enough to show March in a good light. Amon stayed to the end of the year, but Mosley succeeded in "restructuring" his contract, saving the company some much-needed money. At the end of the season, Mosley successfully demanded full control of the finances, including the factory run by Coaker, who left shortly afterwards. Mosley and Herd borrowed £20,000 from relatives and friends to support the company into its second year. According to Lovell the money came from Mosley's half-brother, Jonathan Guinness.
Tyrrell started making its own cars towards the end of 1970, and March's 1971 program in Formula One was much reduced, with no recognised front-running driver. The Firestone and STP sponsorship was insufficient and Mosley failed to attract a large backer for 1971. Motorsport author Mike Lawrence has suggested that the shortfall forced him into short-term deals, which maintained cashflow, but were not in the best long-term interests of the company. Mosley negotiated a deal for the team to use Alfa Romeo
engines in a third car, bringing much needed funding. The engines proved uncompetitive, and his hopes of an ongoing partnership with the Italian automobile manufacturer were not met. Nonetheless, March again finished third in the constructors championship, and works driver Ronnie Peterson
, in a Cosworth DFV
-powered car, was second in the Drivers' Championship. March's financial woes continued: the company had lost £71,000 at the end of 1971. Mosley and Rees disagreed over how to rectify the situation and Rees left March early in 1972.
March was more successful in selling large numbers of customer cars in the lower formulae. Mosley organised extensive test sessions for the 1971 cars for journalists and drivers, and arranged a successful scheme for drivers to rent cars and engines for the season, rather than buying them outright. Losing money on a deal to supply Jochen Neerpasch
, then motorsport manager at Ford, with a Formula Two car paid off when Neerpasch moved to BMW
and offered March an exclusive deal in 1972 to use BMW's Formula Two engine. March cars powered by BMW engines won five of the next 11 European Formula Two championships. However, BMW also put pressure on Herd to concentrate on the Formula Two programme. As a result, he spent less time with the Formula One team, where Mosley started to act as a race engineer.
Although March considered quitting Formula One on several occasions, money was always found to support at least one car. Motorsport historian Mike Lawrence credits Mosley with pressing for a six-wheeled March to be built as a draw for sponsors, having seen the popularity with fans of Tyrrell's six-wheeled P34
. The resulting March 2-4-0
never competed in Formula One, but generated the required publicity and a Scalextric
slotcar
model was profitable. Mosley spent much of his time negotiating deals for drivers with sponsorship and was also successful in selling Marches to other Formula One teams, such as Williams
and Penske
. The cars were rarely frontrunners, although the works team won a single race in both 1975 and 1976. By the end of 1977, Mosley was fed up with the struggle to compete in Formula One with no resources and left to work for FOCA full time, selling his shares in the company to Herd but remaining as a director. March's involvement in Formula One ended the same year.
bought the Brabham team, and Mosley recalls that:
The Formula One Constructors Association
(FOCA) was created in 1974 by Ecclestone, Colin Chapman
, Teddy Mayer
, Mosley, Ken Tyrrell
and Frank Williams. FOCA would represent the commercial interests of the teams at meetings with the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile
(FISA), motorsport's world governing body. After leaving March at the end of , Mosley officially became legal advisor to FOCA, which was led by Ecclestone. In his biography of Ecclestone, Terry Lovell suggests that he appointed Mosley to this role not only because of his legal ability, but also because he "saw in Mosley the necessary diplomatic and political skills that made him perfectly suited to the establishment of the FIA". The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
(FIA) was FISA's parent body, representing car users worldwide. In the same year, Mosley was nominated for a role at the FIA Bureau Internationale de Constructeurs d'Automobile. His nomination was blocked by French, Italian and German manufacturers.
In the early 1980s, Mosley represented FOCA in the "FISA-FOCA War
", a conflict between FOCA, representing the mainly UK-based independent teams, and FISA, which was supported by the "grandee
" constructors owned by road car manufacturers (primarily Alfa Romeo
, Ferrari
and Renault
). In 1981, FOCA announced its own World Federation of Motor Sport and ran the non-championship 1981 South African Grand Prix
. The staging of this event, with worldwide television coverage, helped persuade Jean-Marie Balestre
, the FISA president, that FISA would have to negotiate a settlement with FOCA. As Mosley has since commented: "We were absolutely skint. If Balestre could have held the manufacturer's support for a little bit longer, the constructors would have been on their knees. The outcome would then have been very different." Mosley helped draw up the Concorde Agreement
, a document which resolved the dispute by essentially giving FISA control of the rules and FOCA control of promotion and television rights. The most recent version of the Concorde Agreement expired on 31 December 2007, and a new one was being discussed, as of 2008. In 1982, the year after the first Concorde Agreement was signed, Mosley left his role at FOCA, and Formula One, to work for the Conservative Party.
, a racing technical consultancy firm, with Nick Wirth
, a former March employee. He sold his share of Simtek in 1991, when elected president of the FISA. According to Lovell, in 1987 Mosley suggested to Balestre that he could deal with his problems with Ecclestone by "mak[ing] him a member of the establishment". Later that year Ecclestone was appointed vice-president of the FIA's promotional affairs, with authority over Formula One and the other motor sports authorised by the FIA.
In 1991, Mosley challenged Balestre for the presidency of FISA. Mosley said that his decision to challenge the Frenchman was prompted by Balestre's reported intervention on behalf of his countryman Alain Prost
to ensure that race stewards disqualified Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna
from the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix
. Mosley campaigned on the basis that Balestre, who was also president of the FIA and of the Fédération Française du Sport Automobile, could not effectively manage all these roles together. He also said that no-one challenged Balestre because they were afraid of the consequences and suggested that the FISA President should not interfere with F1, which could be left to run itself. Mosley won the FISA presidency by 43 votes to 29; Balestre remained as FIA president. Mosley resigned a year later, fulfilling a promise made during his election campaign to seek a re-affirmation of his mandate. "I wanted to show people that I do what I say", he said. "Now they can judge me in a year's time." FISA immediately re-elected him.
, was withdrawn when it became clear that the majority of voters were already committed to Mosley. The FISA was then merged into the FIA as its sporting arm.
After the deaths of drivers Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger
at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix
, worldwide media attention focused on the charismatic triple-world champion Senna, rather than Ratzenberger, a virtual unknown driving for the minor Simtek team. Mosley did not go to Senna's funeral, but attended that of Ratzenberger. In a press conference 10 years later Mosley said, "I went to his funeral because everyone went to Senna's. I thought it was important that somebody went to his." In the aftermath of the deaths, and a number of other serious accidents, Mosley announced the formation of the Advisory Expert Group chaired by Professor Sid Watkins
, to research and improve safety in motor racing. Watkins, who learned of his new role by hearing Mosley announce it on the radio, has called it a "novel and revolutionary approach". The resulting changes have included reducing the capacity and power of engines, the use of grooved tyres to reduce cornering speeds, the introduction of the HANS device
to protect drivers' necks in accidents, circuit re-design and greatly increased requirements for crash test
ing of chassis. Mosley was criticised for some of the very rapid changes announced in the immediate aftermath of the deaths at the San Marino race.
In 1995, a deal was signed between Ecclestone and the FIA that passed all of the commercial rights to Formula One to him for 15 years, on the condition that they would return to the FIA at the end of that period. Ecclestone had been building up Formula One as a television package since the early 1990s, investing heavily in new digital television
technology. For the duration of the deal, the FIA would receive an index-linked annual fixed royalty, estimated by Lovell at around 15%. Mosley said "My belief is that I got a better deal than anyone else could have because it was more difficult for Ecclestone to take a hard line with me as we had worked together for so long." The following year the FIA also passed the rights to all its other directly sanctioned championships and events to Ecclestone, also for 15 years, then added a 10-year extension to the F1 contract in return for a 10% share in Ecclestone's proposed flotation of Formula One. Mosley's agreement with Ecclestone on TV rights for F1 angered three of the team principals in particular: Ron Dennis (McLaren), Frank Williams (Williams) and Ken Tyrrell (Tyrrell), who felt that neither Ecclestone nor the FIA had the right to make such an agreement without the teams. They refused to sign the 1997 Concorde Agreement without increased financial returns and threatened to make a complaint under European Union competition rules. The European Commission was already investigating the FIA’s agreement with Ecclestone in what Lovell calls a “highly personal and bitter battle between Max Mosley and [EU commissioner Karel] van Miert
”.
Later that year, the EU Commission Directorate-General for Competition made a preliminary decision against Ecclestone and the FIA. The resulting warning letters from van Miert to the FIA and Ecclestone were leaked and ended the attempt to float F1; the FIA won a case against the Commission for the leakage in 1998.
At the same time, a local court in Germany ruled that the television rights to the FIA European Truck Racing Cup (passed to Ecclestone by the FIA the previous year, along with all other FIA authorised championships) should be returned to the series organiser. Mosley immediately cancelled the series, but reversed the decision when threatened with a fine or prison sentence by the court. Between 1997 and 2000 Mosley repeatedly said that if the EU decision went against the FIA, the marketing organisations and F1 itself would be moved out of Europe. In 2000, the EU Commission Directorate-General for Competition decided that the FIA’s practices were against European competition law. The rights to FIA-authorised series were returned to the series organisers. In order to maintain Ecclestone's investment to deliver digital television and satisfy the EU that the rights had effectively been disposed of by the FIA, Mosley came up with the idea of extending Ecclestone's rights for F1 coverage to 100 years from the initial 15. He removed himself from the detailed negotiations, which eventually returned around $300 million (£150 million) for the 100-year rights, a figure which Lovell compares to the £600 million KirchGruppe paid for the rights to the 2002 Football World Cup
and the £1.1 billion British Sky Broadcasting
paid for a three-year package of English Premier League football.
Over the same period, Mosley was attempting to delay European legislation banning tobacco advertising
. At this time all leading Formula One teams carried significant branding from tobacco brands such as Rothmans
, West
, Marlboro and Mild Seven
. The Labour party had pledged to ban tobacco advertising in its manifesto ahead of its 1997 General Election victory
, supporting a proposed European Union Directive
. The Labour Party's stance on banning tobacco advertising was reinforced following the election by forceful statements from the Health Secretary Frank Dobson
and Minister for Public Health Tessa Jowell
. Ecclestone appealed "over Jowell's head" to Jonathan Powell
, Tony Blair's
chief of staff, who arranged a meeting with Blair. Ecclestone and Mosley, both Labour Party donors, met Blair on 16 October 1997. Mosley argued that the proposed legislation was illegal by EU rules, that Formula One needed more time to find alternative sources of funding and that the prompt introduction of a ban would lead to races being held outside Europe, while the coverage, including tobacco logos, would still be broadcast into the EU. He also argued that:
On 4 November the "fiercely anti-tobacco Jowell" argued in Brussels for an exemption for Formula One. Media attention initially focused on Labour bending its principles for a "glamour sport" and on the "false trail" of Jowell's husband's links to the Benetton Formula
One team. On 6 November correspondents from three newspapers enquired whether Labour had received any donations from Ecclestone; he had donated £1 million in January 1997. On 11 November Labour promised to return the money on the advice of Sir Patrick Neill. On 17 November Blair apologised for his government's mishandling of the affair and stated "the decision to exempt Formula One from tobacco sponsorship was taken two weeks later. It was in response to fears that Britain might lose the industry overseas to Asian countries who were bidding for it."
The revised directive went into force in June 1998, and banned sponsorship from 2003, with a further three-year extension for "global sports such as Formula One". On 5 October 2000, the directive was successfully overturned in the European Court of Justice on the grounds that it was unlawful. A new Tobacco Advertising Directive took effect in July 2005; the Financial Times described Mosley as "furious" that this was a year earlier than provided for under the 1998 directive. As of 2009, Ferrari is the only F1 team to retain tobacco sponsorship, although the team carries no explicit branding in races because of the European legislation. Although the FIA moved its headquarters out of the EU in 1999, it returned in 2001; all of the F1 teams remain in Europe, and six are in the UK, compared to seven of eleven at the end of 1997.
Asked in a 2003 interview about his most enduring achievement as president of the FIA, Mosley replied: "I think using Formula One to push Encap Crash-Testing." The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP or Encap) is a European car safety
performance assessment programme that originated with work done by the Transport Research Laboratory
for the UK Department for Transport
. The FIA became involved in the programme in 1996, taking a lead in promoting it, and Mosley chaired the initiative from its launch as Euro NCAP in 1997 to 2004. Despite what NCAP describes as a "strong negative response" from car manufacturers at first, the initiative has expanded, and NCAP says that there has been a clear increase in the safety of modern cars as a result. Mosley has continued to promote the matter through his membership of initiatives such as CARS 21, the European Commission’s policy group aimed at improving the worldwide competitiveness of the European automotive industry. In February 2001, Mosley announced his intention to stand again for the presidency in October of that year, saying that if successful this third term would be his last.
Mosley was elected to his third term as president of the FIA in 2001. From 2000, Formula One saw the return of teams partly or wholly owned and operated by major motor manufacturers, who feared that under Ecclestone's management F1 coverage would go to pay television, reducing the value of their investment. In 2001, the Grand Prix Manufacturers Association
(GPMA) announced an alternative world championship, the Grand Prix World Championship
to start by 2008. The GPMA stipulated that the championship should not be regulated by the FIA, which Lovell believes was because the organisation believed Mosley was too close to Ecclestone.
In June 2004, Mosley announced that he would step down from his position in October of that year, one year early, saying "I no longer find it either satisfying or interesting to sit in long meetings [...] I have achieved in this job everything I set out to [...]". One month later, he rescinded his decision after the FIA Senate called for him to stay on. According to a BBC Sport profile, many insiders considered that the announcement, and Mosley's public disagreements with Ecclestone, were "just part of a well crafted plan to strengthen their control over the sport"; Ron Dennis
, the McLaren team principal, suggested that it arose because Mosley's proposals for Formula One met opposition. In 2004, Mosley said he felt Ferrari's then team principal Jean Todt
should succeed him as president of the FIA when he stepped down.
The 2005 United States Grand Prix
was run with only six cars, after the Michelin tyres used by the other 14 cars proved unsafe for the circuit. A proposal involving the addition of a temporary chicane
to slow cars through the fastest corner of the circuit was rejected by Mosley. This effectively forced the teams running Michelin tyres to pull out for safety reasons. Paul Stoddart
, the then-owner of the Minardi
team, was prepared to compromise to accommodate Michelin teams—even though a reduced field would guarantee his team much needed points—and was particularly vocal in his criticism and renewed his calls for Mosley to resign.
Continuing a theme of his presidency, in 2006 Mosley called for Formula One manufacturers to develop technology relevant to road cars. In recent years, a large proportion of the enormous budget of Formula One has been spent on the development of very powerful, very high-revving engines, which some say have little applicability to road cars. Mosley has announced a 10-year freeze on the development of engines, which would allow manufacturers to spend more of their budgets on environmentally friendly
technology such as the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) introduced in 2009. In July 2008, he sent a letter to the Formula One teams, in which he called for the teams to propose future sporting regulations to address specific issues including reduced fuel consumption.
The 2007 Formula One season
was dominated by Ferrari's accusations that the McLaren team had made illegal use of their intellectual property, leading to legal cases in the United Kingdom and Italy. Unlike previous cases, such as the Toyota
team's illegal use of Ferrari intellectual property in 2004, the FIA investigated the case and eventually fined McLaren a net $100M and excluded the team from the 2007 constructors' championship. Later in the year, the Renault
team was found guilty by the FIA of possessing McLaren's intellectual property, but was not punished. Triple world champion Jackie Stewart criticised Mosley, who later called him a "certified half-wit"; the Scot, who is dyslexic, has since said that others did not back McLaren for "fear of repercussions". TV commentator and newspaper columnist Martin Brundle
, a former driver, was among those who criticised the FIA and Mosley for inconsistency; he subsequently received a writ
for questioning the "energetic manner" in which he felt Mosley was pursuing McLaren.
At the start of 2008, Mosley said that he wanted to see through reforms such as budget capping and new technologies like KERS successfully introduced into Formula One before retiring. In March of that year the News of the World
, a British tabloid newspaper, released video footage of Mosley engaged in sado-masochistic sexual acts with five sex worker
s in a scenario that the paper said involved Nazi role-playing, a situation made more controversial by his father's association with the Nazis. Mosley admitted "the embarrassment the revelations caused", but said that there was no Nazi theme involved. He was strongly criticised by former drivers, motor manufacturers and several of the national motoring bodies who form the FIA. His involvement in several high level motor sport events was cancelled. Public expressions of support were limited. Mosley says that he received much supportive correspondence, and said that he would continue to the end of his current term, which he said would be his last. Mosley's long time ally Ecclestone eventually appeared to support Mosley's removal.
Mosley won a vote of confidence at an Extraordinary General Meeting of the FIA on 3 June, with 103 votes in support and 55 against, with seven abstentions and four invalid votes. Several clubs, including the ADAC
, AAA
and KNAF considered withdrawal from the FIA after the decision. Other formerly critical organisations have since said that they will accept the outcome of the vote and now wish to move on. In July 2008, Mosley won a High Court
legal case against the News of the World for invasion of privacy. The presiding judge, Mr Justice Eady, said: "I see no genuine basis at all for the suggestion that the participants mocked the victims of the Holocaust."
In December 2008, Mosley said that he still intended to stand down when his term ran out in October 2009, but would take the final decision in June of that year. Mosley's close relationship with Ecclestone, the sport's promoter, was criticised in early 2009 by Sir Jackie Stewart, who suggested that Mosley should resign in favour of a CEO from outside motorsport.
In mid-2009, the FIA and the newly formed Formula One Teams Association
disagreed
over the format of rules for the following season. When the entry list for the 2010 championship was announced on 12 June 2009, the entries of five of the eight FOTA teams remained provisional on their acceptance of the new rules. The next day, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association
announced its support for FOTA's request for "stability, clear rules, a clear and transparent system of governance" and their threat to form a breakaway series from Formula One. The BBC Sport website reported this as an attack on Mosley's authority and noted that Mosley was expected to stand again for the presidency in 2009. On 23 June Mosley said that he would be happy to run for a fifth term as FIA president in October "in light of the attack on my mandate". However, the following day FOTA and the FIA reached an agreement with Mosley agreeing not to stand for re-election as part of the deal: 'now there is peace'. Luca di Montezemolo
welcomed Mosley's decision to stand down and called Mosley a 'dictator'. Mosley responded by saying that unless he received an apology, he would consider his 'options open' and might well stand for re-election in October after all. He later said that he was "under pressure from all over the world" to stand for re-election. On 15 July, Mosley confirmed that he would after all stand down, and again endorsed former Ferrari Executive Director Jean Todt as his successor. Todt went on to win the presidency.
newspaper which had exposed his involvement in a sadomasochistic sex act involving several female prostitutes, on the grounds that it had breached his privacy. As a result, in 2009 Mosley brought a case against the UK's privacy laws in the European Court of Human Rights
, in a bid to force newspapers to warn people before exposing their private lives so they could have the opportunity to seek a court injunction. The case was rejected by the court on 10 May 2011. In July 2011, The Daily Telegraph
reported that Mosley was financially guaranteeing the court costs of claimants who may have been subjected to phone hacking by the News of the World. Mosley refused to comment at the time, he later gave an TV interview to the BBC and telephone interview to Reuters where he confirmed the story.
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile is a non-profit association established as the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users...
(FIA), a non-profit association that represents the interests of motoring organisations and car users worldwide. The FIA is also the governing body
Sport governing body
A sport governing body is a sports organization that has a regulatory or sanctioning function. Sport governing bodies come in various forms, and have a variety of regulatory functions. Examples of this can include disciplinary action for rule infractions and deciding on rule changes in the sport...
for Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
and other international motorsports
Auto racing
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
.
A former barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
and amateur racing driver, Mosley was a founder and co-owner of March Engineering
March Engineering
March Engineering was a Formula One constructor and manufacturer of customer racing cars from the United Kingdom. Although only moderately successful in Grand Prix competition, March racing cars enjoyed much better achievement in other categories of competition including Formula Two, Formula Three,...
, a successful racing car constructor and Formula One racing team. He dealt with legal and commercial matters for the company between 1969 and 1977. In the late 1970s, Mosley became the official legal adviser to the Formula One Constructors Association
Formula One Constructors Association
The Formula One Constructors' Association is an organization of the chassis builders who design and build the cars that race in the FIA Formula One World Championship...
(FOCA), the body that represents Formula One constructors. In this role he drew up the first version of the Concorde Agreement
Concorde Agreement
The Concorde Agreement is a contract between the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile , the Formula One teams and the Formula One Administration which dictates the terms by which the teams compete in races and take their share of the television revenues and prize money...
, which settled a long-standing dispute
FISA-FOCA war
The FISA–FOCA war was a political battle contested throughout the early 1980s by the two representative organizations in Formula One motor racing, the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile and the Formula One Constructors Association...
between FOCA and the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile
Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile
The Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile was the governing body for motor racing events. The organisation's origins date from 1922, when the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile delegated the organisation of automobile racing to the CSI , an autonomous committee that would later...
(FISA), the then governing body of Formula One. Mosley was elected president of FISA in 1991 and became president of the FIA, FISA's parent body, in 1993. Mosley has identified his major achievement as FIA President as the promotion of the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP or Encap), a European car safety
Car safety
Automobile safety is the study and practice of vehicle design, construction, and equipment to minimize the occurrence and consequences of automobile accidents. Automobile safety is the study and practice of vehicle design, construction, and equipment to minimize the occurrence and consequences of...
performance assessment programme. He has also promoted increased safety and the use of green technologies in motor racing. In 2008, stories about his sex life appeared in the British press. Despite the controversy, Mosley retained his position. He stood down at the end of his term in 2009 and was replaced by his preferred successor, Jean Todt
Jean Todt
Jean Todt was born on February 25, 1946, in Pierrefort, Cantal, France. After a successful career as a rally co-driver he made his reputation in motor sport management, first with Peugeot Talbot Sport, then with Scuderia Ferrari, before being appointed Chief Executive Officer of Ferrari from 2004...
.
Mosley is the youngest son of Sir Oswald Mosley
Oswald Mosley
Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet, of Ancoats, was an English politician, known principally as the founder of the British Union of Fascists...
, Bart, former leader of the British Union of Fascists
British Union of Fascists
The British Union was a political party in the United Kingdom formed in 1932 by Sir Oswald Mosley as the British Union of Fascists, in 1936 it changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists and then in 1937 to simply the British Union...
(BUF), and Diana Mitford
Diana Mitford
Diana Mitford, Lady Mosley , was one of Britain's noted Mitford sisters. She was married first to Bryan Walter Guinness, heir to the barony of Moyne, and secondly to Sir Oswald Mosley, 6th Baronet, of Ancoats, leader of the British Union of Fascists; her second marriage, in 1936, took place at the...
. He was educated in France, Germany and Britain before going on to attend university at Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
, where he graduated with a degree in physics. In his teens and early twenties Mosley was involved with his father's post-war political party, the Union Movement
Union Movement
The Union Movement was a right-wing political party founded in Britain by Oswald Mosley. Where Mosley had previously been associated with a peculiarly British form of fascism, the Union Movement attempted to redefine the concept by stressing the importance of developing a European nationalism...
(UM). He has said that the association of his surname with fascism stopped him from developing his interest in politics further, although he briefly worked for the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
in the early 1980s.
Family and early life
Sir Oswald MosleyOswald Mosley
Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet, of Ancoats, was an English politician, known principally as the founder of the British Union of Fascists...
was a Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
minister, and a Member of Parliament for both the Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
and Labour parties in the 1920s. By the 1930s, he had left mainstream politics and become the leader of the British Union of Fascists
British Union of Fascists
The British Union was a political party in the United Kingdom formed in 1932 by Sir Oswald Mosley as the British Union of Fascists, in 1936 it changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists and then in 1937 to simply the British Union...
(BUF). His first wife died in 1933, and in 1936 Sir Oswald married Diana Mitford
Diana Mitford
Diana Mitford, Lady Mosley , was one of Britain's noted Mitford sisters. She was married first to Bryan Walter Guinness, heir to the barony of Moyne, and secondly to Sir Oswald Mosley, 6th Baronet, of Ancoats, leader of the British Union of Fascists; her second marriage, in 1936, took place at the...
, in a ceremony in Germany attended by Joseph Goebbels
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...
and Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
. Max was born in London in April 1940 during the early stages of the Second World War. In May, Sir Oswald, who had campaigned for a negotiated peace with Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, was interned by the British Authorities under Defence Regulation 18B
Defence Regulation 18B
Defence Regulation 18B, often referred to as simply 18B, was the most famous of the Defence Regulations used by the British Government during World War II. The complete technical reference name for this rule was: Regulation 18B of the Defence Regulations 1939. It allowed for the internment of...
, along with most other active fascists in Britain. Lady Mosley was imprisoned a month later. Max and his brother Alexander were not included in this internship and as a result were separated from their parents for the first few years of their lives. In December 1940, then-prime minister Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, who knew Lady Mosley socially, asked Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
Herbert Morrison
Herbert Morrison
Herbert Stanley Morrison, Baron Morrison of Lambeth, CH, PC was a British Labour politician; he held a various number of senior positions in the Cabinet, including Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister.-Early life:Morrison was the son of a police constable and was born in...
to ensure Lady Mosley was able to see Max—whom she had christened the Entschlossener (the determined one)—regularly.
Sir Oswald and Lady Mosley were released from detention at HMP Holloway
Holloway (HM Prison)
HM Prison Holloway is a closed category prison for adult women and Young Offenders, located in the Holloway area of the London Borough of Islington, in north and Inner London, England...
on 16 November 1943, provoking widespread public protests. Their children were refused entry to several schools, due to a combination of their wildness and their parents' reputation, and were initially tutored at home. The family moved to a succession of country houses in England. Mosley's older half-brother Nicholas describes the family, including Sir Oswald’s children from his first marriage, spending the summer of 1945 getting the harvest in and shooting at Crowood Farm. In 1950, the Mosleys bought houses in the Republic of Ireland, and in Orsay, near Paris. The family spent the year moving around Europe, spending the spring in France and the autumn and winter in Ireland, where Mosley was keen on riding and hunting. His aunt Nancy Mitford
Nancy Mitford
Nancy Freeman-Mitford, CBE , styled The Hon. Nancy Mitford before her marriage and The Hon. Mrs Peter Rodd thereafter, was an English novelist and biographer, one of the Bright Young People on the London social scene in the inter-war years...
, in letters to Evelyn Waugh
Evelyn Waugh
Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh , known as Evelyn Waugh, was an English writer of novels, travel books and biographies. He was also a prolific journalist and reviewer...
, recalled Sir Oswald and his family cruising the Mediterranean sea on the family yacht. On one such trip they visited Spain and were entertained by Sir Oswald's friend, General Franco.
Initially Mosley was educated in France, then at the age of 13 he was sent to Stein an der Traun
Traunreut
Traunreut is a town in southeastern Bavaria, Germany in the Traunstein district. It is located at . Traunreut lies in the heart of the Chiemgau region between Munich and Salzburg, approximately 10 km east of the Chiemsee, 25 km north of the Alps, and 35 km west of Salzburg. Its...
in Germany for two years, where he learned to speak fluent German. On his return to England he was educated at Millfield
Millfield
Millfield is an independent school in Street in Somerset, in south-west England.The school currently has a roll of 1,260 pupils, of whom 910 are boarders...
, an independent boarding school in Somerset. He attended Christ Church
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
at Oxford University, graduating with a degree in physics in 1961. During his time there he was Secretary of the Oxford Union
Oxford Union
The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, Britain, whose membership is drawn primarily but not exclusively from the University of Oxford...
. In 1961, Mosley campaigned under the slogan "Free speech for fascists" when his father's invitation to speak at the Union was opposed. Shortly afterwards, Mosley introduced his father to Robert Skidelsky, one of Mosley's contemporaries at the university, who later wrote Sir Oswald's biography. Rejecting an early ambition to work as a physicist after "establishing that there was no money in it", Mosley went on to study law at Gray's Inn
Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
in London, specialising in patent and trademark law, and qualified as a barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
in 1964. Northumbria University
Northumbria University
Northumbria University is an academic institution located in Newcastle upon Tyne in the North East of England. It is a member of the University Alliance.- History :...
awarded Mosley an Honorary Doctorate of Civil Law
Civil law (legal system)
Civil law is a legal system inspired by Roman law and whose primary feature is that laws are codified into collections, as compared to common law systems that gives great precedential weight to common law on the principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently on different...
in 2005. During the early 1960s, Mosley was also a member of the Territorial Army, training as a parachutist.
Mosley, like many of Formula One's drivers, lives in Monaco. On 9 June 1960 he married at the Chelsea Register Office Jean Taylor, the daughter of James Taylor, a policeman from Streatham
Streatham
Streatham is a district in Surrey, England, located in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
. In 1970 their first son, Alexander, was born and in 1972 their second son, Patrick. On 5 May 2009, Alexander, a restaurateur
Restaurateur
A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of the restaurant business.-Etymology:The word...
, was found dead at his home. He was thirty-nine. At an inquest on 10 June 2009 the Westminster coroner declared that he had died due to cocaine intoxication
Cocaine intoxication
Cocaine intoxication refers to the immediate effects of cocaine on the body. Although cocaine intoxication and cocaine dependence can be present in the same individual, they present with different sets of symptoms....
.
In addition to his full-brother Alexander, Mosley has five older half-siblings. On his father's side they are Vivien Mosley (1921–2002), novelist Nicholas Mosley, 3rd Baron Ravensdale, and Michael Mosley (born 1932). On his mother's side they are merchant banker, Jonathan Guinness, 3rd Baron Moyne
Jonathan Guinness, 3rd Baron Moyne
Jonathan Bryan Guinness, 3rd Baron Moyne is a British peer and businessman. A member of the Guinness family, he is the elder of the two sons of Bryan Guinness, 2nd Baron Moyne and his first wife Diana Mitford , and until his retirement was a merchant banker for Messrs Leopold Joseph.-Early...
, and Irish preservationist Desmond Guinness
Desmond Guinness
Hon. Desmond Guinness is an Irish author on Georgian art and architecture and a conservationist.He was the second son of the author and brewer Bryan Guinness, 2nd Baron Moyne and Diana Mitford...
.
Politics
From their teens to early twenties, Mosley and his brother were involved with their father's post-war party, the Union MovementUnion Movement
The Union Movement was a right-wing political party founded in Britain by Oswald Mosley. Where Mosley had previously been associated with a peculiarly British form of fascism, the Union Movement attempted to redefine the concept by stressing the importance of developing a European nationalism...
(UM), which advocated a united Europe
Europe a Nation
Europe a Nation was a policy developed by British politician Oswald Mosley as the cornerstone of his Union Movement. It called for the integration of Europe into a single entity....
as its core issue. Trevor Grundy, a central figure in the UM's Youth Movement, writes of the 16-year-old Mosley painting the flash and circle
Flash and Circle
The Flash and Circle is the second and best known symbol of the British Union of Fascists. It was chosen to represent "action within unity"...
symbol on walls in London on the night of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
's invasion of Hungary (4 November 1956). The flash and circle was used by both the UM and the pre-war BUF. He also says Mosley organised a couple of large parties as a way "to get in with lively, ordinary, normal young people, girls as well as boys, and attract them to the Movement by showing that we were like them and didn't go on about Hitler and Mussolini, Franco and British Fascism all the time." Mosley met his future wife Jean at such a party. Mosley and Alexander were photographed posing as Teddy Boys in Notting Hill during the 1958 race riots between Afro-Caribbeans and local white gangs of Teddy Boys. The following year, they canvassed
Canvassing
Canvassing is the systematic initiation of direct contact with a target group of individuals commonly used during political campaigns. A campaign team will knock on doors of private residences within a particular geographic area, engaging in face-to-face personal interaction with voters...
for their father when he ran as a Union Movement candidate for the nearby Kensington North
Kensington North (UK Parliament constituency)
Kensington North was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Kensington district of west London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
seat in the 1959 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 1959
This United Kingdom general election was held on 8 October 1959. It marked a third successive victory for the ruling Conservative Party, led by Harold Macmillan...
. Sir Oswald used racist rhetoric during the campaign, which was run largely on anti-immigration issues.
Mosley was later an election agent
Election agent
In elections in the United Kingdom, as well as in certain other similar political systems such as India's, an election agent is the person legally responsible for the conduct of a candidate's political campaign and to whom election material is sent to by those running the election. In elections in...
for the Union Movement, supporting Walter Hesketh as parliamentary candidate for Moss Side
Moss Side
Moss Side is an inner-city area and electoral ward of Manchester, England. It lies south of Manchester city centre and has a population of around 17,537...
in 1962. The motor racing journalist Alan Henry
Alan Henry
Alan Henry is a Grand Prix reporter, working since the early 1970s. He is the Formula One correspondent of the Guardian newspaper and currently holds the title of Editor at Large of F1 Racing magazine. Henry is also the chief editor of the yearly Autocourse Formula One season review books, a...
describes him as one of his father's "right-hand men" at the time of a violent incident in 1962, in which Sir Oswald was knocked down by a mob in London and saved from serious injury by his son's intervention. As a result of his involvement in this fracas, Mosley was arrested and charged with threatening behaviour. He was later cleared at Old Street Magistrates' Court
Magistrates' Court
A magistrates' court or court of petty sessions, formerly known as a police court, is the lowest level of court in England and Wales and many other common law jurisdictions...
on the grounds that he was trying to protect his father. In 1964, Mosley himself was a prospective UM candidate.
In the early 1980s, Mosley attempted a political career, working for the UK Conservative Party and hoping to become a parliamentary candidate. Bernie Ecclestone
Bernie Ecclestone
Bernard Charles "Bernie" Ecclestone is an English business magnate, as president and CEO of Formula One Management and Formula One Administration and through his part-ownership of Alpha Prema, the parent company of the Formula One Group of companies. As such, he is generally considered the primary...
's biographer, Terry Lovell, writes that he gave up this aspiration after being unimpressed by "the calibre of senior party officials". He also felt his name would be a handicap and has since said "If I had a completely open choice in my life, I would have chosen party politics, but because of my name, that's impossible." By the late 1990s he had become a supporter of the UK Labour Party.
Racing career
While Mosley was at University, his wife was given tickets to a motor raceAuto racing
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
at the Silverstone circuit
Silverstone Circuit
Silverstone Circuit is an English motor racing circuit next to the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. The circuit straddles the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire border, with the current main circuit entry on the Buckinghamshire side...
. The circuit was not far from Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, and the couple went out of curiosity. Mosley was attracted by the sport, and when his career as a barrister was bringing in sufficient money, he started racing cars himself. The sport's indifference to his background appealed to Mosley:
At national level in the UK, Mosley competed in over 40 races in 1966 and 1967; he won 12 and set several class lap records
Fastest lap
In motorsport, the fastest lap is the quickest lap run during a race. Some series, like A1 Grand Prix and the GP2 series, award bonus points to the driver/team with the fastest lap...
. In 1968, he formed the London Racing Team in partnership with driver Chris Lambert to compete in European Formula Two
Formula Two
Formula Two, abbreviated to F2, is a type of open wheel formula racing. It was replaced by Formula 3000 in 1985, but the FIA announced in 2008 that Formula Two would return for 2009 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship...
, the level of racing just below Formula One. Their cars were prepared by Frank Williams, later a Formula One team owner. It was a dangerous time to race. Early in the year, Mosley competed in the 1968 Deutschland Trophäe
1968 Deutschland Trophäe
The 1968 Deutschland Trophäe, also known as the Martini Gold Cup, was a motor race, run to Formula Two rules, held on 7 April 1968 at the Hockenheimring, Germany. The race was run over two heats of 20 laps of the circuit, and was the first round of the 1968 European Formula Two season...
, the Formula Two race at Hockenheim
Hockenheimring
The Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg is an automobile racing track situated near the town of Hockenheim in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located on Bertha Benz Memorial Route. Amongst other motor racing events, it biennially hosts the Formula One German Grand Prix...
in which double world champion Jim Clark
Jim Clark
James "Jim" Clark, Jr OBE was a British Formula One racing driver from Scotland, who won two World Championships, in 1963 and 1965....
was killed, and within two years both of Mosley's 1968 team mates were dead in racing accidents. Mosley's best result that year was an eighth place at a non-championship race at Monza
Autodromo Nazionale Monza
The Autodromo Nazionale Monza is a race track located near the town of Monza, north of Milan, in Italy. The circuit's biggest event is the Formula One Italian Grand Prix, which has been hosted there since the sport's inception....
. Engine builder Brian Hart
Brian Hart
Brian Hart is a British former racing driver and engineer with a background in the aviation industry. He is best known as the founder of Brian Hart Limited, a company that developed and built engines for motorsport use.- Racing career :Beginning in 1958, Hart enjoyed a successful career as a...
says that as a driver, Mosley "might not have been particularly quick, but he was a thinking driver. He kept out of trouble and generally used his head."
March Engineering
Team Lotus
Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport series including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar and sports car racing...
car, Mosley decided that "it was evident that I wasn't going to be World Champion" and retired from driving. He was already working with Robin Herd
Robin Herd
Robin Herd is an English engineer, designer and businessman.Herd graduated from St Peter's College, Oxford with a double first in physics and engineering, before joining the Royal Aircraft Establishment in 1961 as a design engineer on the Concorde supersonic aircraft project...
, Alan Rees
Alan Rees
Alan Rees is a British former racing driver from Wales. He participated in three World Championship Grands Prix in the 1960s, although two of those appearances were driving Formula 2 cars...
and Graham Coaker
Graham Coaker
Graham Coaker was a British engineer and businessman, who was one of the four founders of the March Engineering motor racing manufacturer....
to establish the racing car manufacturer March Engineering
March Engineering
March Engineering was a Formula One constructor and manufacturer of customer racing cars from the United Kingdom. Although only moderately successful in Grand Prix competition, March racing cars enjoyed much better achievement in other categories of competition including Formula Two, Formula Three,...
where he handled legal and commercial matters. The name March is an acronym based on the initials of the founders; the 'M' stands for Mosley. Like the other founders, Mosley put in £2,500 of capital. His father told him that the company "would certainly go bankrupt, but it would be good experience for a later career."
Mosley played a key role in publicising the new outfit. Although March had few resources and limited experience, the firm announced ambitious plans to enter Formula One, the pinnacle of single-seater racing, in 1970. The team had initially intended to enter a single car, but by the beginning of the season (partly due to deals made by Mosley), the number of March cars entered for their first Formula One race had risen to five. Two of these were run by March's own in-house works team and the rest by customer teams. Mosley also negotiated sponsorship from tyre maker Firestone
Firestone Tire and Rubber Company
The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is an American tire company founded by Harvey Firestone in 1900 to supply pneumatic tires for wagons, buggies, and other forms of wheeled transportation common in the era. Firestone soon saw the huge potential for marketing tires for automobiles. The company...
and oil additive
Oil additive
Oil additives are chemical compounds that improve the lubricant performance of base oil . By utilizing the same base stock, many different oils can be manufactured, each with its distinctive properties. Additives comprise up to 5% by weight of some oils.Nearly all commercial motor oils contain...
manufacturer STP
STP (motor oil company)
STP is an American brand and trade name for the automotive additives, lubricants and performance division of Armored AutoGroup.Founded in 1953 in Saint Joseph, Missouri, the company’s name, STP, was derived from “Scientifically Treated Petroleum”...
.
The new operation was initially successful. In Formula One, March cars won three of their first four races. One of these was a world championship race, the 1970 Spanish Grand Prix
1970 Spanish Grand Prix
The 1970 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Jarama on April 19, 1970. It was the second round of the 1970 Formula One season.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standings...
, won by reigning world champion Jackie Stewart
Jackie Stewart
Sir John Young Stewart, OBE , better known as Jackie Stewart, and nicknamed The Flying Scotsman, is a Scottish former racing driver and team owner. He competed in Formula One between 1965 and 1973, winning three World Drivers' Championships. He also competed in Can-Am...
in a customer car run by Tyrrell Racing
Tyrrell Racing
The Tyrrell Racing Organisation was an auto racing team and Formula One constructor founded by Ken Tyrrell which started racing in 1958 and started building its own cars in 1970. The team experienced its greatest success in the early 1970s, when it won three drivers' championships and one...
. As a result, March finished third in the 1970 Constructors' Championship. The factory also sold 40 cars to customers in various lower formulae. Despite these successes, the organisation got into financial difficulty almost immediately. The Formula One operation was costing more than the customer car business was making. The March works team's contract with its lead driver, Chris Amon
Chris Amon
Christopher Arthur Amon MBE is a former motor racing driver. He was active in Formula One - racing in the 1960s and 1970s - and is widely regarded to be one of the best F1 drivers never to win a championship Grand Prix...
, was expensive, and Mosley, in his own words, "tried at every opportunity to get rid of him". He reasoned that Stewart's highly competitive customer car was enough to show March in a good light. Amon stayed to the end of the year, but Mosley succeeded in "restructuring" his contract, saving the company some much-needed money. At the end of the season, Mosley successfully demanded full control of the finances, including the factory run by Coaker, who left shortly afterwards. Mosley and Herd borrowed £20,000 from relatives and friends to support the company into its second year. According to Lovell the money came from Mosley's half-brother, Jonathan Guinness.
Tyrrell started making its own cars towards the end of 1970, and March's 1971 program in Formula One was much reduced, with no recognised front-running driver. The Firestone and STP sponsorship was insufficient and Mosley failed to attract a large backer for 1971. Motorsport author Mike Lawrence has suggested that the shortfall forced him into short-term deals, which maintained cashflow, but were not in the best long-term interests of the company. Mosley negotiated a deal for the team to use Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo in Formula One
Alfa Romeo participated in Formula One, as both a constructor and engine supplier, from to .-Success, 1950-1951:In 1950 Nino Farina won the inaugural Formula One World Championship in a 158 with supercharger, in 1951 Juan Manuel Fangio won while driving an Alfetta 159...
engines in a third car, bringing much needed funding. The engines proved uncompetitive, and his hopes of an ongoing partnership with the Italian automobile manufacturer were not met. Nonetheless, March again finished third in the constructors championship, and works driver Ronnie Peterson
Ronnie Peterson
Bengt Ronnie Peterson was a Swedish racing driver. He was a two-time runner-up in the FIA Formula One World Drivers' Championship.Peterson began his motor racing career in kart racing, traditionally the discipline where the majority of race drivers begin their careers in open-wheel racing...
, in a Cosworth DFV
Cosworth DFV
The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. Named Four Valve because of the four valves per cylinder, and Double as it was a V8 development of the earlier, four-cylinder FVA , making it a Double Four Valve engine...
-powered car, was second in the Drivers' Championship. March's financial woes continued: the company had lost £71,000 at the end of 1971. Mosley and Rees disagreed over how to rectify the situation and Rees left March early in 1972.
Jochen Neerpasch
Jochen Neerpasch is a former German racecar driver and motorsports manager.His racing career began in the 1960s, first on Borgward touring car, then with the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans as a first major event...
, then motorsport manager at Ford, with a Formula Two car paid off when Neerpasch moved to BMW
BMW in motorsport
Throughout its history, BMW cars and motorcycles have been successful in a range of motorsport activities. Mainly before World War II, BMW motorcycles were winning e.g. at the Isle of Man TT. Apart from the factory efforts, many privateer teams enter BMW road cars in Touring car racing. BMW also...
and offered March an exclusive deal in 1972 to use BMW's Formula Two engine. March cars powered by BMW engines won five of the next 11 European Formula Two championships. However, BMW also put pressure on Herd to concentrate on the Formula Two programme. As a result, he spent less time with the Formula One team, where Mosley started to act as a race engineer.
Although March considered quitting Formula One on several occasions, money was always found to support at least one car. Motorsport historian Mike Lawrence credits Mosley with pressing for a six-wheeled March to be built as a draw for sponsors, having seen the popularity with fans of Tyrrell's six-wheeled P34
Tyrrell P34
The Tyrrell P34 , otherwise known as the "six-wheeler", was a Formula One race car designed by Derek Gardner, Tyrrell's chief designer....
. The resulting March 2-4-0
March 2-4-0
The March 2-4-0 was an experimental six-wheeled Formula One racing car built by the March Engineering company of Bicester, UK. It was constructed in late 1976 and tested in early 1977....
never competed in Formula One, but generated the required publicity and a Scalextric
Scalextric
Scalextric is a toy brand for a range of slot car racing sets which first appeared in the late 1950s, as a creation of British firm Minimodels. The brand is currently owned and distributed by Hornby.-History:...
slotcar
Slotcar racing
Note: this article concerns slot car racing competition. For information on the general slot car hobby, including more detailed coverage of history, scales, track-types and mechanical functioning, see slot car....
model was profitable. Mosley spent much of his time negotiating deals for drivers with sponsorship and was also successful in selling Marches to other Formula One teams, such as Williams
WilliamsF1
Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, trading as AT&T Williams, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded and run by Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head...
and Penske
Penske Racing
Penske Racing is a racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series and NASCAR. They also previously competed in road racing, and Formula One. Penske Racing is a division of Penske Corporation, and is owned and chaired by Roger Penske...
. The cars were rarely frontrunners, although the works team won a single race in both 1975 and 1976. By the end of 1977, Mosley was fed up with the struggle to compete in Formula One with no resources and left to work for FOCA full time, selling his shares in the company to Herd but remaining as a director. March's involvement in Formula One ended the same year.
Formula One Constructors Association
From 1969, Mosley was invited to represent March at the Grand Prix Constructors' Association (GPCA), which negotiated joint deals on behalf of its member teams. Although the new March organisation was not popular with the established teams, Mosley has said that "when they went along to meetings to discuss things such as prize money, they felt they ought to take me along because I was a lawyer". He was unimpressed with the standard of negotiations: "our side all went in a group because no-one trusted anyone else and all were afraid that someone would break ranks and make a private deal." In 1971, British businessman Bernie EcclestoneBernie Ecclestone
Bernard Charles "Bernie" Ecclestone is an English business magnate, as president and CEO of Formula One Management and Formula One Administration and through his part-ownership of Alpha Prema, the parent company of the Formula One Group of companies. As such, he is generally considered the primary...
bought the Brabham team, and Mosley recalls that:
The Formula One Constructors Association
Formula One Constructors Association
The Formula One Constructors' Association is an organization of the chassis builders who design and build the cars that race in the FIA Formula One World Championship...
(FOCA) was created in 1974 by Ecclestone, Colin Chapman
Colin Chapman
Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman CBE was an influential British designer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry, and founder of Lotus Cars....
, Teddy Mayer
Teddy Mayer
Edward Everett "Teddy" Mayer was an American motor racing entrepreneur who was successful in several categories of racing, including Formula One and IndyCars....
, Mosley, Ken Tyrrell
Ken Tyrrell
Robert Kenneth "Ken" Tyrrell was a British Formula Two racing driver and the founder of the Tyrrell Formula One constructor.-Biography:...
and Frank Williams. FOCA would represent the commercial interests of the teams at meetings with the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile
Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile
The Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile was the governing body for motor racing events. The organisation's origins date from 1922, when the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile delegated the organisation of automobile racing to the CSI , an autonomous committee that would later...
(FISA), motorsport's world governing body. After leaving March at the end of , Mosley officially became legal advisor to FOCA, which was led by Ecclestone. In his biography of Ecclestone, Terry Lovell suggests that he appointed Mosley to this role not only because of his legal ability, but also because he "saw in Mosley the necessary diplomatic and political skills that made him perfectly suited to the establishment of the FIA". The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile is a non-profit association established as the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users...
(FIA) was FISA's parent body, representing car users worldwide. In the same year, Mosley was nominated for a role at the FIA Bureau Internationale de Constructeurs d'Automobile. His nomination was blocked by French, Italian and German manufacturers.
In the early 1980s, Mosley represented FOCA in the "FISA-FOCA War
FISA-FOCA war
The FISA–FOCA war was a political battle contested throughout the early 1980s by the two representative organizations in Formula One motor racing, the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile and the Formula One Constructors Association...
", a conflict between FOCA, representing the mainly UK-based independent teams, and FISA, which was supported by the "grandee
Grandee
Grandee is the word used to render in English the Iberic high aristocratic title Grande , used by the Spanish nobility; Portuguese nobility, and Brazilian nobility....
" constructors owned by road car manufacturers (primarily Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of cars. Founded as A.L.F.A. on June 24, 1910, in Milan, the company has been involved in car racing since 1911, and has a reputation for building expensive sports cars...
, Ferrari
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...
and Renault
Renault
Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
). In 1981, FOCA announced its own World Federation of Motor Sport and ran the non-championship 1981 South African Grand Prix
1981 South African Grand Prix
The 1981 South African Grand Prix was a Formula Libre motor race held on February 7, 1981 at Kyalami.The race was originally scheduled to be the opening round of the 1981 FIA Formula One World Championship however the ongoing FISA-FOCA war resulted in Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile ...
. The staging of this event, with worldwide television coverage, helped persuade Jean-Marie Balestre
Jean-Marie Balestre
Jean-Marie Balestre was a French auto racing executive, who was president of FISA from 1978 to 1991 and of the FIA from 1985 to 1993.-Biography:Balestre was born at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône....
, the FISA president, that FISA would have to negotiate a settlement with FOCA. As Mosley has since commented: "We were absolutely skint. If Balestre could have held the manufacturer's support for a little bit longer, the constructors would have been on their knees. The outcome would then have been very different." Mosley helped draw up the Concorde Agreement
Concorde Agreement
The Concorde Agreement is a contract between the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile , the Formula One teams and the Formula One Administration which dictates the terms by which the teams compete in races and take their share of the television revenues and prize money...
, a document which resolved the dispute by essentially giving FISA control of the rules and FOCA control of promotion and television rights. The most recent version of the Concorde Agreement expired on 31 December 2007, and a new one was being discussed, as of 2008. In 1982, the year after the first Concorde Agreement was signed, Mosley left his role at FOCA, and Formula One, to work for the Conservative Party.
FISA presidency
Mosley returned to motorsport in 1986, with the support of Ecclestone and Balestre, to become president of the FISA Manufacturers' Commission, the successor to the Bureau Internationale de Constructeurs d'Automobile. That same year, he established Simtek ResearchSimtek
Simtek was an engineering consultancy firm and Formula One racing team. The F1 engineering consultancy arm, Simtek Research, was founded in 1989 by Max Mosley and Nick Wirth. It originally was involved in many areas of Formula One, including wind tunnel construction and chassis building for third...
, a racing technical consultancy firm, with Nick Wirth
Nick Wirth
Nicholas John Peter "Nick" Wirth is an automotive engineer and the founder and owner of Wirth Research.He is also the former owner of the Simtek Formula One team, a former aerodynamicist at March and former technical director at the Benetton, and Virgin Racing teams.- Education and early...
, a former March employee. He sold his share of Simtek in 1991, when elected president of the FISA. According to Lovell, in 1987 Mosley suggested to Balestre that he could deal with his problems with Ecclestone by "mak[ing] him a member of the establishment". Later that year Ecclestone was appointed vice-president of the FIA's promotional affairs, with authority over Formula One and the other motor sports authorised by the FIA.
In 1991, Mosley challenged Balestre for the presidency of FISA. Mosley said that his decision to challenge the Frenchman was prompted by Balestre's reported intervention on behalf of his countryman Alain Prost
Alain Prost
Alain Marie Pascal Prost, OBE, Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur is a French racing driver. A four-time Formula One Drivers' Champion, Prost has won more titles than any driver except for Juan Manuel Fangio , and Michael Schumacher . From 1987 until 2001 Prost held the record for most Grand Prix...
to ensure that race stewards disqualified Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna
Ayrton Senna
Ayrton Senna da Silva was a Brazilian racing driver. A three-time Formula One world champion, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time...
from the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix
1989 Japanese Grand Prix
The 1989 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Suzuka Circuit, Japan, on October 22, 1989. It formed the 15th and penultimate round of the 1989 Formula One World Championship. This race would become one of the most notorious in F1 history, as the culmination of Alain Prost and...
. Mosley campaigned on the basis that Balestre, who was also president of the FIA and of the Fédération Française du Sport Automobile, could not effectively manage all these roles together. He also said that no-one challenged Balestre because they were afraid of the consequences and suggested that the FISA President should not interfere with F1, which could be left to run itself. Mosley won the FISA presidency by 43 votes to 29; Balestre remained as FIA president. Mosley resigned a year later, fulfilling a promise made during his election campaign to seek a re-affirmation of his mandate. "I wanted to show people that I do what I say", he said. "Now they can judge me in a year's time." FISA immediately re-elected him.
FIA presidency
1993–1997
In 1993, Mosley agreed with Balestre that the Frenchman would stand down as president of the FIA in Mosley's favour, in return for the new role of President of the FIA Senate, to be created after Mosley's election. As well as motorsport, the FIA's remit includes the interests of motorists worldwide, an area in which Mosley wanted to involve himself: "That is what really interested me: [in F1] you maybe save one life every five years, whereas [in] road safety you are talking about thousands of lives". A challenge to Mosley's election by Jeffrey Rose, chairman of the British Royal Automobile ClubRoyal Automobile Club
The Royal Automobile Club is a private club and is not to be confused with RAC plc, a motorists' organisation, which it formerly owned.It has two club houses, one in London at 89-91 Pall Mall, and the other in the countryside at Woodcote Park, Surrey, next to the City of London Freemen's School...
, was withdrawn when it became clear that the majority of voters were already committed to Mosley. The FISA was then merged into the FIA as its sporting arm.
After the deaths of drivers Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger
Roland Ratzenberger
Roland Ratzenberger was an Austrian racing driver who raced in Formula Nippon, Formula 3000 and Formula One...
at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix
1994 San Marino Grand Prix
The 1994 San Marino Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on May 1, 1994 at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy. It was the third race of the 1994 Formula One season...
, worldwide media attention focused on the charismatic triple-world champion Senna, rather than Ratzenberger, a virtual unknown driving for the minor Simtek team. Mosley did not go to Senna's funeral, but attended that of Ratzenberger. In a press conference 10 years later Mosley said, "I went to his funeral because everyone went to Senna's. I thought it was important that somebody went to his." In the aftermath of the deaths, and a number of other serious accidents, Mosley announced the formation of the Advisory Expert Group chaired by Professor Sid Watkins
Sid Watkins
Eric Sidney Watkins OBE, FRCS is a world-renowned English neurosurgeon.Watkins served twenty-six years as the FIA Formula One Safety and Medical Delegate, head of the Formula One on-track medical team, and first responder in case of a crash.He is commonly known within the Formula One fraternity as...
, to research and improve safety in motor racing. Watkins, who learned of his new role by hearing Mosley announce it on the radio, has called it a "novel and revolutionary approach". The resulting changes have included reducing the capacity and power of engines, the use of grooved tyres to reduce cornering speeds, the introduction of the HANS device
HANS device
The HANS device is a safety item compulsory in many car racing sports...
to protect drivers' necks in accidents, circuit re-design and greatly increased requirements for crash test
Crash test
A crash test is a form of destructive testing usually performed in order to ensure safe design standards in crashworthiness and crash compatibility for various modes of transportation or related systems and components.- Types :...
ing of chassis. Mosley was criticised for some of the very rapid changes announced in the immediate aftermath of the deaths at the San Marino race.
In 1995, a deal was signed between Ecclestone and the FIA that passed all of the commercial rights to Formula One to him for 15 years, on the condition that they would return to the FIA at the end of that period. Ecclestone had been building up Formula One as a television package since the early 1990s, investing heavily in new digital television
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
technology. For the duration of the deal, the FIA would receive an index-linked annual fixed royalty, estimated by Lovell at around 15%. Mosley said "My belief is that I got a better deal than anyone else could have because it was more difficult for Ecclestone to take a hard line with me as we had worked together for so long." The following year the FIA also passed the rights to all its other directly sanctioned championships and events to Ecclestone, also for 15 years, then added a 10-year extension to the F1 contract in return for a 10% share in Ecclestone's proposed flotation of Formula One. Mosley's agreement with Ecclestone on TV rights for F1 angered three of the team principals in particular: Ron Dennis (McLaren), Frank Williams (Williams) and Ken Tyrrell (Tyrrell), who felt that neither Ecclestone nor the FIA had the right to make such an agreement without the teams. They refused to sign the 1997 Concorde Agreement without increased financial returns and threatened to make a complaint under European Union competition rules. The European Commission was already investigating the FIA’s agreement with Ecclestone in what Lovell calls a “highly personal and bitter battle between Max Mosley and [EU commissioner Karel] van Miert
Karel Van Miert
Karel Van Miert was a socialist Flemish politician.He was born in Oud-Turnhout. He studied at Ghent University and gained a degree in diplomatic sciences. In 1976 he became adjunct-national secretary of the – at that time – unitary Belgian socialist party...
”.
1997–2001
Mosley was elected to his second term as president of the FIA in October 1997.Later that year, the EU Commission Directorate-General for Competition made a preliminary decision against Ecclestone and the FIA. The resulting warning letters from van Miert to the FIA and Ecclestone were leaked and ended the attempt to float F1; the FIA won a case against the Commission for the leakage in 1998.
At the same time, a local court in Germany ruled that the television rights to the FIA European Truck Racing Cup (passed to Ecclestone by the FIA the previous year, along with all other FIA authorised championships) should be returned to the series organiser. Mosley immediately cancelled the series, but reversed the decision when threatened with a fine or prison sentence by the court. Between 1997 and 2000 Mosley repeatedly said that if the EU decision went against the FIA, the marketing organisations and F1 itself would be moved out of Europe. In 2000, the EU Commission Directorate-General for Competition decided that the FIA’s practices were against European competition law. The rights to FIA-authorised series were returned to the series organisers. In order to maintain Ecclestone's investment to deliver digital television and satisfy the EU that the rights had effectively been disposed of by the FIA, Mosley came up with the idea of extending Ecclestone's rights for F1 coverage to 100 years from the initial 15. He removed himself from the detailed negotiations, which eventually returned around $300 million (£150 million) for the 100-year rights, a figure which Lovell compares to the £600 million KirchGruppe paid for the rights to the 2002 Football World Cup
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
and the £1.1 billion British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....
paid for a three-year package of English Premier League football.
Tobacco advertising
Tobacco advertising is the advertising of tobacco products or use by the tobacco industry through a variety of media including sponsorship, particularly of sporting events. It is now one of the most highly regulated forms of marketing...
. At this time all leading Formula One teams carried significant branding from tobacco brands such as Rothmans
Rothmans International plc
Rothmans International plc was a British tobacco manufacturer. Its brands included Rothmans and Dunhill. Its international headquarters were in Hill Street, London and its international operations were run from Denham Place, Denham Village in Buckinghamshire...
, West
West (cigarette)
West is a German tobacco brand owned by the British company Imperial Tobacco.The cigarettes are available in most European Union countries except the UK and Ireland. The brand is sold in over 90 countries worldwide.-History:...
, Marlboro and Mild Seven
Mild Seven
Mild Seven is a brand of cigarettes produced by Japan Tobacco. Mild Seven cigarettes are the third widest smoked cigarette in the world, behind Marlboro and Camel. Manufactured originally in Tokyo, by Japanese Tobacco Inc. it has been a top seller since its creation in 1977...
. The Labour party had pledged to ban tobacco advertising in its manifesto ahead of its 1997 General Election victory
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
, supporting a proposed European Union Directive
European Union directive
A directive is a legislative act of the European Union, which requires member states to achieve a particular result without dictating the means of achieving that result. It can be distinguished from regulations which are self-executing and do not require any implementing measures. Directives...
. The Labour Party's stance on banning tobacco advertising was reinforced following the election by forceful statements from the Health Secretary Frank Dobson
Frank Dobson
Frank Gordon Dobson, is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Holborn and St. Pancras since 1979...
and Minister for Public Health Tessa Jowell
Tessa Jowell
Tessa Jowell is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Dulwich and West Norwood since 1992. Formerly a member of both the Blair and Brown Cabinets, she is currently the Shadow Minister for the Olympics and Shadow Minister for London.-Early life:Tessa Jane...
. Ecclestone appealed "over Jowell's head" to Jonathan Powell
Jonathan Powell (chief of staff to Tony Blair)
Jonathan Nicholas Powell is a British diplomat who served as the first Downing Street Chief of Staff, under British Prime Minister Tony Blair throughout his premiership, from his election in 1997 until his resignation in 2007...
, Tony Blair's
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
chief of staff, who arranged a meeting with Blair. Ecclestone and Mosley, both Labour Party donors, met Blair on 16 October 1997. Mosley argued that the proposed legislation was illegal by EU rules, that Formula One needed more time to find alternative sources of funding and that the prompt introduction of a ban would lead to races being held outside Europe, while the coverage, including tobacco logos, would still be broadcast into the EU. He also argued that:
On 4 November the "fiercely anti-tobacco Jowell" argued in Brussels for an exemption for Formula One. Media attention initially focused on Labour bending its principles for a "glamour sport" and on the "false trail" of Jowell's husband's links to the Benetton Formula
Benetton Formula
Benetton Formula Ltd., commonly referred to simply as Benetton, was a Formula One constructor that participated from to . The team was owned by the Benetton family who run a worldwide chain of clothing stores of the same name. In 2000 the team was purchased by Renault, but competed as Benetton for...
One team. On 6 November correspondents from three newspapers enquired whether Labour had received any donations from Ecclestone; he had donated £1 million in January 1997. On 11 November Labour promised to return the money on the advice of Sir Patrick Neill. On 17 November Blair apologised for his government's mishandling of the affair and stated "the decision to exempt Formula One from tobacco sponsorship was taken two weeks later. It was in response to fears that Britain might lose the industry overseas to Asian countries who were bidding for it."
The revised directive went into force in June 1998, and banned sponsorship from 2003, with a further three-year extension for "global sports such as Formula One". On 5 October 2000, the directive was successfully overturned in the European Court of Justice on the grounds that it was unlawful. A new Tobacco Advertising Directive took effect in July 2005; the Financial Times described Mosley as "furious" that this was a year earlier than provided for under the 1998 directive. As of 2009, Ferrari is the only F1 team to retain tobacco sponsorship, although the team carries no explicit branding in races because of the European legislation. Although the FIA moved its headquarters out of the EU in 1999, it returned in 2001; all of the F1 teams remain in Europe, and six are in the UK, compared to seven of eleven at the end of 1997.
Asked in a 2003 interview about his most enduring achievement as president of the FIA, Mosley replied: "I think using Formula One to push Encap Crash-Testing." The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP or Encap) is a European car safety
Car safety
Automobile safety is the study and practice of vehicle design, construction, and equipment to minimize the occurrence and consequences of automobile accidents. Automobile safety is the study and practice of vehicle design, construction, and equipment to minimize the occurrence and consequences of...
performance assessment programme that originated with work done by the Transport Research Laboratory
Transport Research Laboratory
TRL is a British transport consultancy and research organisation based at Wokingham Berkshire with approximately 500 staff. TRL is owned by the Transport Research Foundation , which is overseen by 80 sector members from the transport industry. TRL also own small UK regional offices situated in...
for the UK Department for Transport
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
. The FIA became involved in the programme in 1996, taking a lead in promoting it, and Mosley chaired the initiative from its launch as Euro NCAP in 1997 to 2004. Despite what NCAP describes as a "strong negative response" from car manufacturers at first, the initiative has expanded, and NCAP says that there has been a clear increase in the safety of modern cars as a result. Mosley has continued to promote the matter through his membership of initiatives such as CARS 21, the European Commission’s policy group aimed at improving the worldwide competitiveness of the European automotive industry. In February 2001, Mosley announced his intention to stand again for the presidency in October of that year, saying that if successful this third term would be his last.
2001–2005
Grand Prix Manufacturers Association
The Grand Prix Manufacturers Association was an alliance of car manufacturers that participated in Formula One formed to act as a tool to assist the companies in bargaining with Bernie Ecclestone for an agreeable extension to the 1997 Concorde Agreement, the contract by whose terms the teams...
(GPMA) announced an alternative world championship, the Grand Prix World Championship
Grand Prix World Championship
The Grand Prix World Championship, often abbreviated to GPWC, is a general term used to describe any proposed alternative world championship auto racing series to rival Formula One.-1997-2005:...
to start by 2008. The GPMA stipulated that the championship should not be regulated by the FIA, which Lovell believes was because the organisation believed Mosley was too close to Ecclestone.
In June 2004, Mosley announced that he would step down from his position in October of that year, one year early, saying "I no longer find it either satisfying or interesting to sit in long meetings [...] I have achieved in this job everything I set out to [...]". One month later, he rescinded his decision after the FIA Senate called for him to stay on. According to a BBC Sport profile, many insiders considered that the announcement, and Mosley's public disagreements with Ecclestone, were "just part of a well crafted plan to strengthen their control over the sport"; Ron Dennis
Ron Dennis
Ronald "Ron" Dennis CBE is the executive chairman of McLaren Automotive and McLaren Group, and is also a significant shareholder in both companies...
, the McLaren team principal, suggested that it arose because Mosley's proposals for Formula One met opposition. In 2004, Mosley said he felt Ferrari's then team principal Jean Todt
Jean Todt
Jean Todt was born on February 25, 1946, in Pierrefort, Cantal, France. After a successful career as a rally co-driver he made his reputation in motor sport management, first with Peugeot Talbot Sport, then with Scuderia Ferrari, before being appointed Chief Executive Officer of Ferrari from 2004...
should succeed him as president of the FIA when he stepped down.
The 2005 United States Grand Prix
2005 United States Grand Prix
The 2005 United States Grand Prix was one of the most controversial Formula One motor races in modern history. It was held on June 19, 2005 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was the ninth race of the 2005 Formula One season. Out of 20 cars entered for the race, only the six cars from the teams...
was run with only six cars, after the Michelin tyres used by the other 14 cars proved unsafe for the circuit. A proposal involving the addition of a temporary chicane
Chicane
A chicane is an artificial feature creating extra turns in a road, used in motor racing and on city streets to slow cars to lower speeds.- Motor Racing :...
to slow cars through the fastest corner of the circuit was rejected by Mosley. This effectively forced the teams running Michelin tyres to pull out for safety reasons. Paul Stoddart
Paul Stoddart
Paul Stoddart, born 26 May 1955, is an Australian millionaire airline magnate, and former owner of the Minardi Formula One racing team. He later took the Minardi brand into the Champ Car World Series after his purchase of a portion of CTE-HVM Racing which he renamed Minardi Team USA for 2007.-Early...
, the then-owner of the Minardi
Minardi
Minardi was an automobile racing team and constructor founded in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal following of fans...
team, was prepared to compromise to accommodate Michelin teams—even though a reduced field would guarantee his team much needed points—and was particularly vocal in his criticism and renewed his calls for Mosley to resign.
2005–2009
Mosley was elected unopposed to his fourth term as president of the FIA in 2005. In recognition of his contribution to road safety and motorsport, Mosley was made a Chevalier dans l’Ordre de la Légion d’honneur in 2006. The Légion d'honneur (Legion of Honour) is France's highest decoration for outstanding achievements in military or civil life; a Chevalier (Knight) is the fifth class.Continuing a theme of his presidency, in 2006 Mosley called for Formula One manufacturers to develop technology relevant to road cars. In recent years, a large proportion of the enormous budget of Formula One has been spent on the development of very powerful, very high-revving engines, which some say have little applicability to road cars. Mosley has announced a 10-year freeze on the development of engines, which would allow manufacturers to spend more of their budgets on environmentally friendly
Environmentally friendly
Environmentally friendly are terms used to refer to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies claimed to inflict minimal or no harm on the environment....
technology such as the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) introduced in 2009. In July 2008, he sent a letter to the Formula One teams, in which he called for the teams to propose future sporting regulations to address specific issues including reduced fuel consumption.
The 2007 Formula One season
2007 Formula One season
The 2007 Formula One season was the 58th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship, which began on 18 March and ended on 21 October after seventeen events. The Drivers' Championship was won by Ferrari driver Kimi Räikkönen by one point at the...
was dominated by Ferrari's accusations that the McLaren team had made illegal use of their intellectual property, leading to legal cases in the United Kingdom and Italy. Unlike previous cases, such as the Toyota
Toyota F1
Panasonic Toyota Racing was a Formula One team owned by Japanese car manufacturer Toyota and based in Cologne, Germany. Toyota announced their plans to participate in F1 in 1999, and after extensive testing with their initial car, dubbed the TF101, the team made their debut in 2002...
team's illegal use of Ferrari intellectual property in 2004, the FIA investigated the case and eventually fined McLaren a net $100M and excluded the team from the 2007 constructors' championship. Later in the year, the Renault
Renault F1
Lotus Renault GP, formerly the Renault F1 Team, is a British Formula One racing team. The Oxfordshire-based team can trace its roots back through the Benetton team of the late 1980s and 1990s to the Toleman team of the early 1980s. Renault had also competed in various forms since , before taking...
team was found guilty by the FIA of possessing McLaren's intellectual property, but was not punished. Triple world champion Jackie Stewart criticised Mosley, who later called him a "certified half-wit"; the Scot, who is dyslexic, has since said that others did not back McLaren for "fear of repercussions". TV commentator and newspaper columnist Martin Brundle
Martin Brundle
Martin John Brundle is a British racing driver from England, known as a Formula One driver and as an F1 commentator for ITV Sport from 1997 to 2008, the BBC from 2009 to 2011 and Sky Sports from 2012....
, a former driver, was among those who criticised the FIA and Mosley for inconsistency; he subsequently received a writ
Writ
In common law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court...
for questioning the "energetic manner" in which he felt Mosley was pursuing McLaren.
At the start of 2008, Mosley said that he wanted to see through reforms such as budget capping and new technologies like KERS successfully introduced into Formula One before retiring. In March of that year the News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
, a British tabloid newspaper, released video footage of Mosley engaged in sado-masochistic sexual acts with five sex worker
Sex worker
A sex worker is a person who works in the sex industry. The term is usually used in reference to those in the sex industry that actually provide such sexual services, as opposed to management and staff of such industries...
s in a scenario that the paper said involved Nazi role-playing, a situation made more controversial by his father's association with the Nazis. Mosley admitted "the embarrassment the revelations caused", but said that there was no Nazi theme involved. He was strongly criticised by former drivers, motor manufacturers and several of the national motoring bodies who form the FIA. His involvement in several high level motor sport events was cancelled. Public expressions of support were limited. Mosley says that he received much supportive correspondence, and said that he would continue to the end of his current term, which he said would be his last. Mosley's long time ally Ecclestone eventually appeared to support Mosley's removal.
Mosley won a vote of confidence at an Extraordinary General Meeting of the FIA on 3 June, with 103 votes in support and 55 against, with seven abstentions and four invalid votes. Several clubs, including the ADAC
ADAC
The ADAC is Germany's and Europe's largest automobile club, with more than 17 million members in June 2010. It was founded on May 24, 1903 as "Deutsche Motorradfahrer-Vereinigung" and was renamed in 1911...
, AAA
American Automobile Association
AAA , formerly known as the American Automobile Association, is a federation of 51 independently operated motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a not-for-profit member service organization with more than 51 million members. AAA provides services to its members such as travel, automotive,...
and KNAF considered withdrawal from the FIA after the decision. Other formerly critical organisations have since said that they will accept the outcome of the vote and now wish to move on. In July 2008, Mosley won a High Court
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
legal case against the News of the World for invasion of privacy. The presiding judge, Mr Justice Eady, said: "I see no genuine basis at all for the suggestion that the participants mocked the victims of the Holocaust."
In December 2008, Mosley said that he still intended to stand down when his term ran out in October 2009, but would take the final decision in June of that year. Mosley's close relationship with Ecclestone, the sport's promoter, was criticised in early 2009 by Sir Jackie Stewart, who suggested that Mosley should resign in favour of a CEO from outside motorsport.
In mid-2009, the FIA and the newly formed Formula One Teams Association
Formula One Teams Association
The Formula One Teams Association is a group of Formula One teams that was formed at a meeting in Maranello on 29 July 2008. This organisation gives the teams a united voice in their ongoing discussions with the FIA and The Formula One Group regarding the future of Formula One. It is headed by...
disagreed
FIA–FOTA dispute
The FIA–FOTA dispute was a series of ongoing political clashes between the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile and Formula One Teams Association over proposed changes to the rules and regulations for the 2010 Formula One season...
over the format of rules for the following season. When the entry list for the 2010 championship was announced on 12 June 2009, the entries of five of the eight FOTA teams remained provisional on their acceptance of the new rules. The next day, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association
European Automobile Manufacturers Association
The European Automobile Manufacturers Association is the main lobbying and standards group of the automobile industry in the European Union. It is the follow on organization to CCMC in 1996....
announced its support for FOTA's request for "stability, clear rules, a clear and transparent system of governance" and their threat to form a breakaway series from Formula One. The BBC Sport website reported this as an attack on Mosley's authority and noted that Mosley was expected to stand again for the presidency in 2009. On 23 June Mosley said that he would be happy to run for a fifth term as FIA president in October "in light of the attack on my mandate". However, the following day FOTA and the FIA reached an agreement with Mosley agreeing not to stand for re-election as part of the deal: 'now there is peace'. Luca di Montezemolo
Luca di Montezemolo
Luca Cordero di Montezemolo is an Italian businessman and Chairman of Ferrari. He was also Chairman of Fiat S.p.A from 2004 to 2010 and President of Confindustria from 2004 to 2008 and FIEG. He comes from an aristocratic family from the region of Piedmont in Italy...
welcomed Mosley's decision to stand down and called Mosley a 'dictator'. Mosley responded by saying that unless he received an apology, he would consider his 'options open' and might well stand for re-election in October after all. He later said that he was "under pressure from all over the world" to stand for re-election. On 15 July, Mosley confirmed that he would after all stand down, and again endorsed former Ferrari Executive Director Jean Todt as his successor. Todt went on to win the presidency.
European privacy laws
In 2008 Mosley won a court case against the News of the WorldNews of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
newspaper which had exposed his involvement in a sadomasochistic sex act involving several female prostitutes, on the grounds that it had breached his privacy. As a result, in 2009 Mosley brought a case against the UK's privacy laws in the European Court of Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
, in a bid to force newspapers to warn people before exposing their private lives so they could have the opportunity to seek a court injunction. The case was rejected by the court on 10 May 2011. In July 2011, The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
reported that Mosley was financially guaranteeing the court costs of claimants who may have been subjected to phone hacking by the News of the World. Mosley refused to comment at the time, he later gave an TV interview to the BBC and telephone interview to Reuters where he confirmed the story.
External links
- Max Mosley interview on HARDtalk BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
31 October 2007. - The main men in F1 BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
11 October 2004 - Mosley will have to go – Stewart BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
28 April 2008 - Letter from Max Mosley to all FIA Club Presidents
- Mosley's fight to clear his famous name BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
9 July 2008 - Mosley v News Group Newspapers Limited [2008] EWHC 687 (QB)