Max Rufus Mosley (born 13 April 1940) is president of the
Fédération Internationale de l'AutomobileThe Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, commonly referred to as the FIA, is a non-profit association established as the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus on June 20, 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 bodyA 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 OneFormula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1, and currently officially referred to as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which all participants...
and other international
motorsportsAutomobile racing is a motorsport involving racing cars. It is one of the world's most watched television sports.- The beginning of racing:...
.
A former
barristerA barrister is a lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions that employ a split profession in relation to legal representation. In split professions, the other types of lawyers are mainly solicitors...
and amateur racing driver, Mosley was a founder and co-owner of
March EngineeringMarch Engineering was a Formula One constructor and manufacturer of customer racing cars from Britain. 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, IndyCar...
, a successful racing car constructor and Formula One racing team. He looked after legal and commercial issues for the company between 1969 and 1977. In the late 1970s, Mosley became the official legal adviser to the
Formula One Constructors AssociationThe 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 AgreementThe Concorde Agreement is a contract between the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile , the Formula One teams and 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 disputeThe 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 AutomobileThe 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 safetyAutomobile safety is the study and practice of vehicle design, construction, and equipment to minimise the occurrence and consequences of automobile accidents....
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.
Mosley is the son of
Oswald MosleySir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet was a British politician, known principally as the founder of the British Union of Fascists...
, former leader of the
British Union of FascistsThe British Union of Fascists was a political party in the United Kingdom formed in 1932 by a former Labour government minister and former MP of the Conservative Party, Sir Oswald Mosley.-Background:...
(BUF), and
Diana MitfordDiana 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 , leader of the British Union of Fascists; her second marriage, in 1936, took place at the home of Joseph Goebbels,...
. He was educated in France, Germany and Britain before going on to attend university at
Christ ChurchThis article is about the Oxford college. For other uses, see Christ Church or Christchurch .Christ Church , is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
,
OxfordOxford is a city, and the county town of Oxfordshire, in South East England. The city has a population of just under 165,000, with 151,000 living within the district boundary. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through Oxford and meet south of the city centre...
, 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 MovementThe 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 European unity rather than narrower...
(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 PartyThe Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
in the early 1980s.
Family and early life
Sir
Oswald MosleySir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet was a British politician, known principally as the founder of the British Union of Fascists...
was a
LabourThe Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
minister, and a
Member of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a parliament. In many countries the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a unique title, such as senate, and thus also have unique titles for its members, such as senators. Members of...
for both the
ConservativeThe Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
and Labour parties in the 1920s. By the 1930s, he had left mainstream politics and become the leader of the
British Union of FascistsThe British Union of Fascists was a political party in the United Kingdom formed in 1932 by a former Labour government minister and former MP of the Conservative Party, Sir Oswald Mosley.-Background:...
(BUF). His first wife died in 1933, and in 1936 Sir Oswald married
Diana MitfordDiana 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 , leader of the British Union of Fascists; her second marriage, in 1936, took place at the home of Joseph Goebbels,...
, in a ceremony in Germany attended by
Joseph GoebbelsPaul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reichsminister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945...
and
Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , popularly known as the Nazi Party...
. Max was born in London early in the Second World War, in April 1940. In May, Sir Oswald, who had campaigned for a negotiated peace with
Nazi GermanyNazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany between 1933 and 1945, while it was led by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Worker's Party . The name Third Reich refers to the state as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages and the German...
, was interned by the British Authorities under
Defence Regulation 18BDefence 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: Rule 18B of the Emergency Powers Act . It allowed for the internment of people...
, 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 SecretaryThe 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 MorrisonHerbert Stanley Morrison, Baron Morrison of Lambeth, CH, PC was a British Labour Party politician. Morrison held various Cabinet posts, including Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister...
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 HollowayHM Prison Holloway is a closed 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
OrsayOrsay is a commune of Essonne, Île-de-France located in the south-western suburbs of Paris, France. It is from the center of Paris.-History:There has been a village called Orsay on this site since 999, and the first church there was consecrated in 1157...
, 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 MitfordNancy Freeman-Mitford, CBE , styled The Hon. Nancy Mitford before her marriage and The Hon. Mrs Rodd thereafter, was an English novelist and biographer, one of the "Bright Young Things" on the London social scene in the inter-war years...
, in letters to
Evelyn WaughArthur Evelyn St. John Waugh was an English writer, best known for such darkly humorous and satirical novels as Decline and Fall, Vile Bodies, Scoop, A Handful of Dust, and The Loved One, as well as for serious works, such as Brideshead Revisited and the Sword of Honour trilogy that clearly...
, recalled Sir Oswald and his family cruising the
Mediterranean seaThe Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by the Levant. The sea is technically a part of the Atlantic Ocean, although it...
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 TraunTraunreut 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
MillfieldMillfield is an independent school in Street, Somerset, England. It caters for 1,260 pupils, of which 910 are boarders. The school's selection criteria are non-academic and some pupils receive subsidised tuition in the form of scholarships and bursaries....
, an independent boarding school in in
SomersetSomerset is a county in South West England. The county town is Taunton, which is in the south of the county. The ceremonial county of Somerset borders the counties of Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west...
. He attended
Christ ChurchThis article is about the Oxford college. For other uses, see Christ Church or Christchurch .Christ Church , 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 UnionThe Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, UK, 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 InnThe Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known simply 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
barristerA barrister is a lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions that employ a split profession in relation to legal representation. In split professions, the other types of lawyers are mainly solicitors...
in 1964.
Northumbria UniversityNorthumbria University is a modern university located in Newcastle upon Tyne in North East England.- Schools :Northumbria University offers approximately 500 study programmes through nine Schools:* Applied Sciences...
awarded Mosley an Honorary Doctorate of
Civil LawCivil law is a legal system inspired by Roman law, the primary feature of which is that laws are written into a collection, codified, and not determined, as in common law, by judges. The principle of civil law is to provide all citizens with an accessible and written collection of the laws which...
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
MonacoMonaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a small sovereign city-state located in South Western Europe on the northern central coast of the Mediterranean Sea, having a land border on three sides only with France, and being about away from Italy. Its size is just under 2 km² with an...
. He married Jean Taylor in 1960; they had two children: Alexander (1970-2009) and Patrick (born 1972). In addition to his brother, Mosley has five older half-siblings. On his father's side they are Vivien Mosley, the novelist Nicholas Mosley, 3rd Baron Ravensdale and Michael Mosley. On his mother's side they are the Irish preservationist,
Desmond GuinnessHon. Desmond Guinness is an Irish author on Georgian art and architecture and a conservationist.Born on 8 September 1931, he was the second son of the author and brewer Bryan Guinness, 2nd Baron Moyne and Diana Mitford...
, and the merchant banker,
Jonathan Guinness, 3rd Baron MoyneJonathan 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...
.
Mosley's 39 year old son Alexander, a restaurateur, was found dead on 5 May 2009 at his home in Notting Hill, West London. The Westminster coroner declared at an inquest on 10 June 2009 that he died due to cocaine intoxication.
Politics
From their teens to early twenties, Mosley and his brother were involved with their father's post-war party, the
Union MovementThe 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 European unity rather than narrower...
(UM), which advocated a
united EuropeEurope 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 circleThe 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 UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
'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
canvassedCanvassing 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 NorthKensington 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 ElectionThis 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 agentIn 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...
for the Union Movement, supporting Walter Hesketh as parliamentary candidate for
Moss SideMoss Side is an inner city, residential area and electoral ward of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies south of Manchester city centre and has a population of around 11,000...
in 1962. The motor racing journalist
Alan HenryAlan 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' CourtA 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 EcclestoneBernard Charles "Bernie" Ecclestone is a billionaire sports entrepreneur, 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...
'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."
Racing career
While Mosley was at University, his wife was given tickets to a
motor raceAutomobile racing is a motorsport involving racing cars. It is one of the world's most watched television sports.- The beginning of racing:...
at the
Silverstone circuitThe Silverstone Circuit is a motor racing circuit in Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire, England, named after the village in the former. It is best known as the home of the British Grand Prix, which it first hosted in 1948 and which has been held on the circuit every year since 1987...
. The circuit was not far from
OxfordOxford is a city, and the county town of Oxfordshire, in South East England. The city has a population of just under 165,000, with 151,000 living within the district boundary. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through Oxford and meet south of the city centre...
, 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 recordsIn 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 TwoFormula Two, abbreviated to F2, is a type of 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 WilliamsSir Francis Owen Garbatt Williams CBE is founder and manager of the WilliamsF1 Formula One racing team.- Early life :Born in South Shields, Tyne and Wear, England, son of a serving RAF officer and a special education teacher , Williams was largely brought up by his maternal aunt and uncle in...
, later a Formula One team owner. It was a dangerous time to race. Early in the year, Mosley competed in the
1968 Deutschland TrophäeThe 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
HockenheimThe Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg is an automobile racing track situated near the town of Hockenheim in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Amongst other motor racing events, it holds the annual Formula One German Grand Prix...
in which double world champion
Jim ClarkJim Clark OBE was a British Formula One racing driver from Scotland.He was the dominant driver of his era, winning two World Championships, in 1963 and 1965. At the time of his death, he had won more Grand Prix races and achieved more Grand Prix pole positions than any other driver...
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
MonzaAutodromo Nazionale Monza is a motorsport race track near the town of Monza, Italy, north of Milan. It is one of the most historic motor racing circuits in the world.-Overview:...
.
March Engineering
In 1969, after two large accidents due to breakages on his
LotusTeam 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 HerdRobin 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 ReesAlan 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 CoakerGraham 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 EngineeringMarch Engineering was a Formula One constructor and manufacturer of customer racing cars from Britain. 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, IndyCar...
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
FirestoneThe Firestone Tire and Rubber Company was 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 was a pioneer in the mass...
and
oil additiveOil additives are used to improve the base oil into a better performing lubricant. By utilizing the same base stock, many different oils can be manufactured, each with its own unique properties....
manufacturer
STPSTP is a brand name and trade name for the automotive additives and performance division of the Clorox Corporation.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 PrixThe 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 :-References:...
, won by reigning world champion
Jackie StewartSir John Young "Jackie" Stewart, OBE , better known as Jackie, and nicknamed The Flying Scot, is a Scottish former racing driver. 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 RacingThe 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 AmonChristopher 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 RomeoAlfa 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 PetersonBengt Ronnie Peterson was a Swedish racing driver.Peterson began his career of motorracing in kart racing, traditionally the discipline where a majority of race drivers begin their career in open wheel racing...
, in a
Cosworth DFVThe DFV was an engine produced by Cosworth originally 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.
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 NeerpaschJochen 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
BMWThroughout its history, BMW cars and motorcycles have been successful in a range of motorsport activities. Mainly before WW2, 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 entered...
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
P34The Tyrrell P34 , otherwise known as the 'six-wheeler,' was a Formula One race car designed by Derek Gardner, Tyrrell's chief designer, as a response to new regulations due to come into force in 1976. The car used specially manufactured 10-inch diameter wheels and tyres at the front with two...
. The resulting
March 2-4-0The 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
ScalextricScalextric is a major international brand of slot car racing that first appeared in the late 1950s and is currently owned by Hornby.-Products:...
slotcarNote: 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
WilliamsWilliamsF1, the trading name of Williams Grand Prix Engineering Ltd., is a Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded and run by Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head. The team was formed in 1977 after two earlier and, compared with WilliamsF1's achievements, unsuccessful F1...
and
PenskePenske Championship Racing is a racing team that competes in the Indy Racing League, ALMS, and NASCAR. They also previously competed in road racing, Formula One and CART. 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 EcclestoneBernard Charles "Bernie" Ecclestone is a billionaire sports entrepreneur, 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...
bought the Brabham team, and Mosley recalls that:
The
Formula One Constructors AssociationThe 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 ChapmanAnthony Colin Bruce Chapman CBE was an influential British designer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry. In 1952 he founded the sports car company Lotus Cars. He studied structural engineering at University College London, joined the University Air Squadron and learned to fly...
,
Teddy MayerEdward Everett "Teddy" Mayer was an American motor racing entrepreneur who was successful in several categories of racing, including Formula One and IndyCars....
, Mosley,
Ken TyrrellKen Tyrrell was a British racing driver and the founder of the Tyrrell Formula One constructor.-Biography:...
and
Frank WilliamsSir Francis Owen Garbatt Williams CBE is founder and manager of the WilliamsF1 Formula One racing team.- Early life :Born in South Shields, Tyne and Wear, England, son of a serving RAF officer and a special education teacher , Williams was largely brought up by his maternal aunt and uncle in...
. FOCA would represent the commercial interests of the teams at meetings with the
Fédération Internationale du Sport AutomobileThe 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'AutomobileThe Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, commonly referred to as the FIA, is a non-profit association established as the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus on June 20, 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 WarThe 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 "
grandeeGrandee is a word used either to render in English the Iberic high aristocratic title Grande, used by the Spanish, Portuguese and Brazilian peerage, or by analogy to refer to other people of a somewhat comparable, exalted position, roughly synonymous with magnate, and in particular by analogy to a...
" constructors owned by road car manufacturers (primarily
Alfa RomeoAlfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian automaker founded on June 24, 1910 in Milan. Alfa Romeo has been a part of the Fiat Group since 1986, and since February 2007 a part of Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A. The company was owned by Italian state holding company Istituto per la Ricostruzione...
,
FerrariFerrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1928 as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles in 1947 as Ferrari S.p.A....
and
RenaultRenault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, buses, tractors, and trucks. Due to its alliance with Nissan, it is currently the world's fourth largest automaker. Headquartered in Boulogne-Billancourt, Renault owns the Romanian automaker Automobile Dacia and the Korean automaker Renault...
). In 1981, FOCA announced its own World Federation of Motor Sport and ran the non-championship
1981 South African Grand PrixThe 1981 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One non-Championship race held on February 7, 1981 at Kyalami.The race was not part of the World Championship due to the FISA-FOCA war...
. The staging of this event, with worldwide television coverage, helped persuade
Jean-Marie BalestreJean-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....
, 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 AgreementThe Concorde Agreement is a contract between the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile , the Formula One teams and 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 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 WirthNick Wirth is the former owner of the Simtek Formula One team, and a former aerodynamicist and chief designer for the Benetton Formula One team....
, 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 ProstAlain Marie Pascal Prost, OBE, Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur is a French racing driver. A four-time Formula One Drivers' Champion, Prost won more titles than any driver save Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher. From 1987 until 2001 Prost held the record for most Grand Prix victories...
to ensure that race stewards disqualified Brazilian driver
Ayrton SennaAyrton Senna da Silva, was a Brazilian race car driver and three-time Formula One world champion...
from the
1989 Japanese Grand PrixThe 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.
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 ClubThe 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 RatzenbergerRoland Ratzenberger was an Austrian racing driver who died during qualifying for the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, the same event that saw the death of three-time Formula One world champion Ayrton Senna.-Biography:...
at the
1994 San Marino Grand PrixThe 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 WatkinsEric 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...
, 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 deviceThe 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 testA crash test is a form of destructive testing usually performed in order to ensure safe design standards in crashworthiness and crash compatibility for automobiles or related 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 televisionDigital television is the sending and receiving of moving images and sound by discrete signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV.-Timeline:...
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 MiertKarel 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. Two years later he became...
”.
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 CupThe 2002 FIFA World Cup, the 17th staging of the World Cup, was held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. The two countries were chosen as hosts by FIFA in May 1996 and was the first tournament in its history to be hosted by two countries. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia...
and the £1.1 billion
British Sky BroadcastingBritish Sky Broadcasting is a company that operates Sky Digital, a subscription television service in the UK and Ireland. It produces TV content, and owns several TV channels. It is the UK's largest pay TV provider...
paid for a three year package of English Premier League football.
Over the same period, Mosley was attempting to delay European legislation banning
tobacco advertisingTobacco 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
RothmansRothmans 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...
,
WestWest is a German tobacco brand owned by the British company Imperial Tobacco.The cigarettes are available in most European Union countries except the UK. The brand is sold in over 90 countries worldwide.-History:...
,
MarlboroMarlboro is a brand of cigarettes made by Philip Morris USA within the US, and by Philip Morris International outside the US. It is famous for its billboard advertisements and magazine ads of the Marlboro Man....
and
Mild SevenMild 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 victoryThe UK general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992. The Labour Party won the general election in a landslide victory with 418 seats, the most seats the party has ever held...
, supporting a proposed
European Union DirectiveA 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 DobsonFrank Gordon Dobson is a British Labour politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Holborn and St. Pancras since 1979; he served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Health from 1997 to 1999, and was the official Labour Party candidate for Mayor of London in 2000, ultimately...
and Minister for Public Health
Tessa JowellTessa Jane Helena Douglas Jowell is a British Labour politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Dulwich and West Norwood since 1992...
. Ecclestone appealed "over Jowell's head" to
Jonathan PowellJonathan Powell served as chief of staff to British Prime Minister Tony Blair from his election in 1997 until his resignation in 2007. The official Downing Street website described his job as having "direct responsibility for leading and co-ordinating operations across Number 10". Despite his low...
,
Tony Blair'sAnthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair is a British politician who served as 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 FormulaBenetton Formula Ltd., commonly referred to simply as Benetton, was a Formula One constructor that participated from 1986 to 2001. 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...
One team. On 6 November correspondents from three newspapers inquired 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 safetyAutomobile safety is the study and practice of vehicle design, construction, and equipment to minimise the occurrence and consequences of automobile accidents....
performance assessment programme that originated with work done by the
Transport Research LaboratoryTransport Research Laboratory is a British centre for transport research, providing consultancy, advice and solutions for a wide range of transport related issues...
for the UK
Department for TransportIn the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and 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
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 AssociationThe 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 ChampionshipThe 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 DennisRon Dennis CBE is the executive chairman of McLaren Automotive and 15% owner of the McLaren Group. He was also the team principal of McLaren, the group's Formula One team, until 2009....
, 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 TodtJean Todt is the former executive director of Scuderia Ferrari, the Ferrari company's Formula One constructor. On October 25, 2006, he was appointed as the company's CEO. On March 18, 2008, Todt resigned as CEO and assumed a "special appointment" within the company's racing department. He...
should succeed him as president of the FIA when he stepped down.
The
2005 United States Grand PrixThe 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
chicaneA chicane is an artificial feature creating extra turns in a roadway, used in motor racing and on city streets to slow cars. On modern raceways, chicanes are usually located after long straightaways, making them a prime location for overtaking....
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 StoddartPaul Stoddart, born May 26, 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...
, the then-owner of the
MinardiMinardi 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 friendlyEnvironmentally friendly are synonyms used to refer to goods and services considered to inflict minimal or no harm on the environment. To make consumers aware, environmentally friendly goods and services often are marked with eco-labels...
technology such as the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS). 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 seasonThe 2007 Formula One season was the 58th FIA Formula One World Championship season. It began on 18 March and ended on 21 October after seventeen Grands Prix. The Drivers' Championship was won by Ferrari driver Kimi Räikkönen by one point at the final race of the season, making Räikkönen the third...
was dominated by Ferrari's accusations that the McLaren team had made illegal use of their
intellectual propertyIntellectual property is a number of distinct types of legal monopolies over creations of the mind, both artistic and commercial, and the corresponding fields of law...
, leading to legal cases in the United Kingdom and Italy. Unlike previous cases, such as the
ToyotaPanasonic Toyota Racing is 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 TF101 initial car, 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
RenaultRenault F1 is the Renault company's Formula One racing team. Renault has a long though intermittent history of involvement in motor racing, including Ferenc Szisz winning the first French Grand Prix, usually regarded as marking the birth of Grand Prix motor racing...
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 BrundleMartin John Brundle is a British former racing driver from England, known as a Formula One driver and as an F1 commentator for ITV Sport and the BBC from 2009....
, a former driver, was among those who criticised the FIA and Mosley for inconsistency; he subsequently received a
writIn law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this public body is generally a court. Warrants, prerogative writs and subpoenas are types of writs; there are many others.-History:...
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 WorldThe News of the World is a British tabloid newspaper published every Sunday. It is published by News Group Newspapers of News International, itself a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, and can be considered the Sunday sister paper of The Sun. The newspaper concentrates on...
, a British tabloid newspaper, released video footage of Mosley engaged in sado-masochistic sexual acts with five
sex workerA sex worker is a person who works in the sex industry, specifically, a person who commercially trades in sex or sexual stimulation. 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. 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 June 3, with 103 votes in support and 55 against, with seven abstentions and four invalid votes. Several clubs, including the
ADACThe ADAC is Germany's and Europe's largest automobile club, with 16,070,180 members in December 2007 . It was founded on May 24, 1903 as "Deutsche Motorradfahrer-Vereinigung" and was renamed in 1911...
,
AAAThe AAA , formerly known as the American Automobile Association, is a 50 million member North American not-for-profit automobile lobby group, service organization, and seller of vehicle insurance...
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 CourtThe High Court of Justice is, together with the Crown Court and the Court of Appeal, 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 AssociationThe Formula One Teams Association is a group of Formula One teams that was formed at a meeting in Maranello on 29 July 2008.The association, directed by the president of Ferrari, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, consists of the following teams, all of which are competing in the 2010 Formula One...
disagreedThe 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 AssociationThe European Automobile Manufacturers Association is the main lobbying and standards group of the automobile industry in the European Union....
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 unless received an apology he would consider his 'options open' and may 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.
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