I'm standing here as large as life, says Mosley
Max Mosley, President of the FIA, revealed that he is under a lot of pressure to stand for re-election from other memebers of the governing body. In an interview with the British newspaper 'Mail on Sunday', Mosley said that while he would rather stand down as President in October, he is prepared to do whatever is required in the face of a potential conflict with FOTA.
Mosley said to the newspaper: "They made the mistake of dancing on my grave before I was buried. It's no good the teams getting a PR agency to claim I am dead and buried when I am standing here as large as life. I am under pressure now from all over the world to stand for re-election. I don't actually want to. I feel I am a little bit too old.
"When I started I was old enough to be the father of the younger Formula 1 drivers; now I am old enough to be the grandfather of some of those driving today. Although I don't feel old, I must seem very old to them. It definitely needs somebody new from that point of view.
"Generally, when you have done something for 16 years, as I have done, it's about time to stop. You get a little bit stale. I do genuinely want to stop. But if there is going to be a big conflict with the car industry, for example, with the FOTA teams, then I won't stop. I will do whatever I have to do. It's not in my nature to walk away from a fight."
Mosley is angered by the press briefings of FOTA this week as they sugested that the Briton was forced out of office and as they labeled him a "dictator". In a letter the FIA President urged Luca di Montezemolo to make a public apology, but this request was not granted by the Ferrari President.
Mosley said to 'Mail on Sunday': "I don't really expect Luca will apologise or withdraw in the way that he should. Yet, on the other hand, within the motorsport world nobody takes him seriously. He's seen as what the Italians call a 'bella figura'. He's chairman of Fiat but the serious individual who runs it is Sergio Marchionne, and I don't suppose he takes much notice of Luca.
"When di Montezemolo comes out with things that are picked up internationally, when people in the UK, for example, read this, they tend to believe it.
"And when FOTA say all this nonsense about Boeri replacing me, that also tends to be believed. I think once we have all that put to bed and the teams come back to the deal we did, then I will be happy sticking with the deal we made. I am working on FIA matters from my office in Monaco. It is business as usual."
