Today Autosport reports that rally star Ari Vatanen has said he will stand against Max Mosley for the FIA presidency if the latter does not stand down. Ari in the driving seat would be a breath of fresh air for motorsports fans after the shenanigans of recent history… During the British GP weekend Mosley incensed members of the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) by labelling them “loonies”. But in fact – Mosley’s sexual antics of last year aside – the label would be more applicable to him and his old cohort, Formula One Management CEO Bernie Ecclestone.
The latest stories about the pair, broken in the UK in The Times and The Telegraph over the last few days, reinforce the impression that they both live in cloud cuckoo land…
In The Times, Ecclestone was quoted as saying that he liked the way Adolf Hitler “got things done”. The remark has caused international outrage, with many calling for the F1 boss’s head.
And in The Telegraph Chris Sylt suggests that, although this wasn’t listed as a precondition, only teams using Cosworth engines were considered in the FIA’s (ie Mosley’s) vetting of new F1 entries for 2010.
That, he contends, is why teams such as Prodrive (Dave Richards) and Lola were left out in the cold, despite having considerable F1 experience.
Sylt suggests that, when the full facts are revealed, we could have FOTA demanding a new, more transparent, vetting process.
And of course Mosley, smarting from what has been presented in the media as a defeat at the hands of FOTA on the issue of his proposed budget cap, has suggested he will stand again for the FIA presidency in October, despite previously agreeing to step down.
Both Bernie and Max are anachronistic embarrassments to motorsport, and both should be booted out.
