Has Max been a verryyy naughty boy?

[checkered]

Reading through Mosley's

letter to FIA members etc., it becomes very obvious that confrontational tactics with the man can be very counterproductive. At an earlier point, perhaps it could've been easier to bore him out of office but now, rather obviously, it's on a very personal level with many. Formula One consists of people's imaginations and attitudes; it can either be greater or smaller than the sum of its parts. Currently, key people on many sides clearly feel themselves as being "above" the sport (and other things). Big mistake. That will only ensure the diminishment of the reward relative to the human investment.

I'm sure we'll eventually get to the morals of this story and equally we'll find that those strongly correlate with Formula One's value, be it financial or otherwise. Personal gratification at the cost of others is at the heart of this issue (be it being spanked, or covertly filming that for personal gain - as extreme examples of a wider theme) and ultimately represents an opportunity far beyond a public settling of scores. I'm quite keen to see whether there are brave enough people to rise to this occasion. There's a certain silence about Formula One at the moment, people are taking stock of the situation without "knee jerk" reactions and I find that encouraging. To me, it suggests that Max Mosley, News of the World, et. al. aren't at the heart of the considerations anymore, but that this - now - has hopefully become more about the future itself.

Somehow, people in power do not seem to recognise that one of the days at the office will also be their last day at office - there's no impunity from that. We're all fallible, only denying that gets us in all that trouble. And of course there's "sympathy and support" for the challenges our humanity poses for us, no matter how embarrassing they prove. But even that altruistic, sympathetic absolution is certainly no substitute for an indefinitely workable mandate - no, the bar is set higher for that. True leadership is indeed finite. It is completely inessential whether any sordid details came to light by happenstance or "covert investigations". In the wider framework of things, the people involved compromised their leadership and integrity over the long run, not by any one decision or action however catastrophic reflections those in themselves might be.

Eventual court decisions won't and can't address most of the relevant concerns and in a certain way, I see that reality dawning in Mosley's letter. He takes the opportunity to specifically mention his resolve to go after his unnamed nemeses and also his obligations towards his family. While his stated intention is for this "not impeding his commitment to the work of the FIA" the wording stops well short of promising an absolute certainty of actually being able to act in accordance to that commitment. This could be as close as Mosley will ever come to directly requesting a personal leave of absence, ultimately leading to a retirement from the post of the President of the FIA. With an absolutely minimal impression that he was overwhelmed or found lacking somehow.

It's entirely possible now that a "friend" will suggest a chargé d'affaires for Max, he will acquiesce and serve his term out in name only. Eventually, some lavish FIA function will be organised (there's no shortage of those) which will double as Mosley's retirement party. His feats will be generously recounted and the only slaps in evidence will be the abundant friendly pats on the back. And that will suit everyone just fine.

[ben_watkins]

Oh this gets better!

http://www.f1technical.net/news/8677

Ecclestone declared to the British newspaper 'The Times': "If he starts to sue, from what I understand, the chances of him winning would be slim and, the trouble is, it's just a lot more ink for the press.

"If Max was in bed with two hookers, they'd say 'good for you' or something like that, but this, as it is, people find it repulsive. I think that's the problem."


=D> =D>

[mcdenife]

It seems to me that Max is universally disliked and/or feared. When you think about it, the only reason Max has been able to get away with so much over the years is because of the relative Isolation or removal of the FIA from public glare (or gaze). In the last year or so and particularly regarding spygate, the world at large perhaps, became more aware of the FIA, its president, the seemingly unchallengeable power its president wielded and by extention (and more importantly) the fear (or perception that no one dared challenge him). Unfortunately for Max, he failed to keep up or failed to realise the world outside his fiefdom had changed (probably from the 60's he knew) and thought he was immune to the 'shenanigans' or scheming of todays tabloids. Whatever we think of the tabloids, this issue has shown that one cannot be so powerful as to be immune.
As F1 becomes more popular, so too FIA becomes less isolated. Though Max has long wielded power with impunity he too, as president of the FIA, has suddenly become more visible. If this had happened a few years ago its impact would probably have cause just a small ripple in the F1 (or motorsport) world but would otherwise be insignificant with barely a mention in the media at large. Everyone would carry on as before.

[gcdugas]

Max Mosley is a mean-spirited sanctimonious prick who delights in lording it over others. It's a shame that so few in the motorsports community have had the balls to stand up to him. I'd rather he were removed based on his policies, but if this is what it takes to get rid of him, so be it.

Amen! We need more straight talk. Tell us what you really think... BTW, I haven't heard anything this direct since Gen. Fallon (a hero for bucking the blood thirsty madness of deluded policy makers) called Gen. Patreas "an ass-kissing little chickenshit". Clicky

[gcdugas]

A thought on ultimate irony....

What if a "odd dressing certifiable half-wit" fills Max's post upon his departure?

Cup of tea Max?

[segedunum]

Max Mosely
"From information provided to me by an impeccable high-level source close to the UK police and security services, I understand that over the last two weeks or so, a covert investigation of my private life and background has been undertaken by a group specialising in such things, for reasons and clients as yet unknown. I have had similar but less well-sourced information from France.

Who could his "impeccable high-level source" be that is close to UK police and security services?

Oh my goodness. Max is really, really spinning. He always seems to be close to some source in some security service or police force somewhere (he used similar language when talking about the dodgy way in which he got McLaren's text messages from the Italian police).

Reading the rest of that statement I get the impression that Max will deny this to the last under invasion of privacy in the same way that he believed totally that he was right when Jackie Stewart and Martin Brundle gave their opinions. I think Bernie is right that he will lose that, and it will get messy for F1. Any court is going to have to look at how private this was (it wasn't in his house), and whether there was significant public interest. I think you can make a decent argument that there was, otherwise no one can report on anything. There are also precedents.

I fear that we're going to see a very public disgrace of, and end to, Max Mosley. While we could probably all feel this was coming, and I can't deny that I smirked when I read that statement, it does Formula One no favours whatsoever. We've had enough scandal in recent times. Ron Dennis must laughing his fossil, Mobil 1 power-generating, synthetic, lubricant to mechanical energy conversion system gasket off.

[DaveKillens]

When I first heard of this "affair", I had trouble believing it and thought it was an early April Fool's joke. But as the days passed, it appears this is for real, and very serious. A highly placed executive of the FIA ensnared in a filthy, lurid sex scandal. This undermines the very foundation of Max's power, and it is only a matter of time before he's sent packing. Max's buddy, Bernie has been playing this down, saying it's nothing but a personal thing. But I ask myself, how do the big wheels in Toyota, or Mercedes, or any other major sponsor take this? Logically, they will do whatever it takes to remove themselves from contact with such a scandal.
Many have tried, but in the end it will be big money removing Max from his position. It's amazing how many enemies this man has, and I bet thet people like Stoddard, Jordan, and especially Dennis are really anjoying this.

[Ted68]

This is where you are wrong. Max's personal issues with power, authority etc. have affected his job performance from day one. His tyrannical approach is directly tied to his "personal life". He seeks to exceed his office's authority and afflict us all with his socialistic centralized planning view of El-Cheapo F1, limited wind tunnel time, customer cars etc.

Well the flip side of that argument is what if this never happened but his wife sued for divorce claiming, "Mad Max hasn't bent me over for a right poking since Maggie left 10 Downing! All he does after the office is sit in his study watching the collected series of Horace Rumpole. The man has no interest in sex!" If we subscribe to you claim that a sexlife more aggressive than the norm is cause for dismissal, than a sexlife more passive than the norm should also be grounds for removal because he is not capable of fulfilling the duties of his office. Yes, this is preposterous and it just shows that one's sexual performance or lack thereof has no bearing on the performance of one's professional life. An individual can be good at one and bad at the other, or good or bad at both. But they are separate.

[gcdugas]

This is where you are wrong. Max's personal issues with power, authority etc. have affected his job performance from day one. His tyrannical approach is directly tied to his "personal life". He seeks to exceed his office's authority and afflict us all with his socialistic centralized planning view of El-Cheapo F1, limited wind tunnel time, customer cars etc.

Well the flip side of that argument is what if this never happened but his wife sued for divorce claiming, "Mad Max hasn't bent me over for a right poking since Maggie left 10 Downing! All he does after the office is sit in his study watching the collected series of Horace Rumpole. The man has no interest in sex!" If we subscribe to you claim that a sexlife more aggressive than the norm is cause for dismissal, than a sexlife more passive than the norm should also be grounds for removal because he is not capable of fulfilling the duties of his office. Yes, this is preposterous and it just shows that one's sexual performance or lack thereof has no bearing on the performance of one's professional life. An individual can be good at one and bad at the other, or good or bad at both. But they are separate.

My contention is that Max has issues with power. It happens to manifest itself in all areas of his life. It has much less to do with sex than it has to do with power. I also said he should be removed for his policies and abuses as FIA President though it looks like this scandal will be his undoing. To me this is less about sex than it is about power and that is clear in all of my posts.

[Rob W]

...the only reason Max has been able to get away with so much over the years is because of the relative Isolation or removal of the FIA from public glare (or gaze). In the last year or so and particularly regarding spygate, the world at large perhaps, became more aware of the FIA, its president, the seemingly unchallengeable power its president wielded and by extention

Interestingly, and not defending Max's after-work antics, but F1 could easily have been run much much much worse on many levels were it not for the special relationship that Max and Bernie have.

Under Max F1 has remained the pinnacle of motorsport, made massive safety improvements, kept teams on their toes with regards to technology changes, and design-driven (as opposed to most other racing series which are just maintenance-driven).

Maybe it shows that a sport like F1 is better run by a couple of all power people. It's got to be someone who intrinsically understands motorsport and also has the business/legal nous to manage the teams wishes, wants etc and balance them up with the real world desire to see a racing series - but increasingly also one that has some relevance to the auto industry with regards to design and development. The regular changes they make to the car specs etc actually may have kept everything fresher a lot longer than if they hadn't. Ditto for the additions of new tracks and dumping of old ones - again, it's helped keep F1 fresh with a bit of turnover which, under a different management team/system, may have become stagnant.

Anyway - just leveling up the argument since some seem to now claim F1 has been run poorly for years despite it being, by far, the most viewed, most merchandised, most bankable and most technologically advances series in motorsport. (Not to mention also being the safest). This didn't all happen by luck.

Note re: Spygate. In the end, Max was entirely correct to pursue the case against McLaren more after the first hearing. There was more dirt on the team - a lot more - and without his following it up, maybe nothing more would have happened. I'm a McLaren fan but would be really disappointed to find out years later through interviews with Coulghan, Stepney, De La Rosa, Alonso etc that they knew a lot more than was known at the time and effectively won via it. F1 needs to stomp cheating out, not put it under the rug as many people seem to be asking for.

R

[superstring]

...........Under Max F1 has remained the pinnacle of motorsport, made massive safety improvements, kept teams on their toes with regards to technology changes, and design-driven (as opposed to most other racing series which are just maintenance-driven).


R

With all due respect, Rob, it's my feeling that, under Max's "reign", F1 has been technologically dumbed down. Sure, the tech people have had to REALLY apply themselves to eek out minuscule improvements (which most of us don't understand or could care less about), but real innovation has been stifled. You need look no further than the mass damper farce two seasons ago. Technological innovation is what F1 should be about.

I admit that safety has been vastly improved, but I'm inclined to agree with Jacques Villeneuve - that danger should be an inherent part of F1 racing (up to a point, of course) and with Jackie Stewart - that racing used to be dangerous, but now the drivers are (because of the safety improvements).

These days Max seems far more concerned with throwing his weight around, just because he can, more than anything else.

[mcdenife]

Ted68 wrote:

Well the flip side of that argument is what if this never happened but his wife sued for divorce claiming, "Mad Max hasn't bent me over for a right poking since Maggie left 10 Downing!

=D> Boy thats the best laugh I 've had in quite a while.

Rob W wrote:

Anyway - just leveling up the argument since some seem to now claim F1 has been run poorly for years despite it being, by far, the most viewed, most merchandised, most bankable and most technologically advances series in motorsport. (Not to mention also being the safest). This didn't all happen by luck.

Note re: Spygate. In the end, Max was entirely correct to pursue the case against McLaren more after the first hearing. There was more dirt on the team - a lot more - and without his following it up, maybe nothing more would have happened. I'm a McLaren fan but would be really disappointed to find out years later through interviews with Coulghan, Stepney, De La Rosa, Alonso etc that they knew a lot more than was known at the time and effectively won via it. F1 needs to stomp cheating out, not put it under the rug as many people seem to be asking for.

I dont think anyone claimed F1 has been poorly run or disputes what Max has done for F1. At issue is Max's misuse power and regardless of any 'wrong-right-doing' on Mclarens part or the eventual outcome I totally disagree Max was correct to pursue a case against Mclaren. That whole episode was nothing but a "power show" on Max's part (note I said Max not the FIA). Max the judge, Max the prosecutor, and Max the Jury. This particular questionable end most certainly did not justify the means.

[mcdenife]

Talk about disgrace

[Principessa]

Finally some response to the scandal from the manufacturers:
http://www.f1technical.net/news/8681

The pressure on Mosley is getting higher each day

[johny]

A kind way of saying "Mr Mosley go away"?