Eurosport - Thu, 25 Jun 15:38:00 2009
Controversy and intrigue go hand in hand with Formula One and Max Mosley's exit will not end that, even if the sport can hope for a less turbulent future.
Mosley, who will stand down as president of the governing International Automobile Federation in October while relinquishing immediately his day to day involvement in Formula One, has said he can depart knowing that the sport is set for peace and stability.
While the teams and FIA have put behind them the most serious crisis in the championship's 60-year existence with a breakthrough agreement on Wednesday, peace is a relative concept.
There will always be flare-ups and arguments, even without the damaging bickering of recent weeks which threatened to alienate so many fans.
Mosley's promised exit will bring down the curtain on the "Max and Bernie Show", a long-running double act with Formula One's commercial supremo and fellow Briton Bernie Ecclestone which has been behind much of the paddock friction.
However, in a sport as competitive and fast-moving as Formula One, it is only a matter of time before the next dispute comes along even if the technical rules remain stable until 2013 and the governance is more consensual.
Ecclestone, with no designated successor, will be 79 this year and the current teams have still to sign a long-term commercial agreement with him. Mosley's heir has also yet to be found.
There are some considerable egos around, on and off the track, as well as intense rivalries.
"The sport itself is intrinsically controversial, unstable, political," said one senior team source, recalling the days before Mosley when Jean-Marie Balestre ruled the FIA.
"I think it is the nature of Formula One that creates this situation."
The unity of the teams has been critical in securing what they wanted off the racetrack and that may not be so apparent once a new commercial agreement is signed.
In the short term, the FIA Senate will oversee Formula One under the leadership of Monaco's Michel Boeri but Mosley will remain a member of that body with considerable influence.
It will not be a case of Boeri running the show. Former Ferrari team boss Jean Todt, no stranger to controversy at the Italian team, is the name most often heard as Mosley's most likely replacement.
There are some, even now, unwilling to believe Mosley will not somehow manage a comeback.
"Only when I see the stake through his heart," the Times newspaper quoted one team principal as saying after Wednesday's announcement.
By ending the immediate threat of a rival series, both sides have broken a logjam and paved the way to a new, leaner future for the sport as well as one that hopes to give the fans a better show.
Mosley and the Formula One Teams Association have agreed to reduce costs within two years to the levels of the early 1990s, when a team like Benetton could win a championship on around $50 million a year.
That will mean heavy job cuts, or at least a relocation of staff where the teams are owned by manufacturers, as well as making the sport financially viable.
"Now everyone can look forward to a bright future where they can make good profits," said Mosley on Wednesday.
With a rival series being threatened, some teams had complained that the uncertainty had put sponsorship deals on hold or into jeopardy.
"Nobody is able to progress on the commercial front today because of the uncertainty," Ross Brawn, whose championship-leading team still lack a title sponsor, said recently.
The driver merry-go-round, usually a source of steady speculation at this time of year, has also been stalled until now with nobody able to commit until they knew who was racing where and under what rules.
Williams and Force India are likely to rejoin FOTA, having been suspended after siding with the FIA, while the three new teams can reassure potential sponsors that they will be competing against the likes of Ferrari and McLaren.
Comment 13 - 32 of 72
as we have experienced earlier
a PROMISE from OAP pervert max is as good as ~~~ " A STAB IN THE BACK .. !""""
Mosley exit? I'll believe it when I see it!
a max a mosley a just like a muppet a gordon brown willa run a F1 into the a ground before hea leave a like brown a done toa britain mistake after a mistake anda lies a after a lies but a still hea will a nota GO..me a also stilla not a sure a who the a uglyier a me a potter ora stunning a jeanette
ferrari are forth in the contsructors champ,,that means there are for teams that have been cheating.
Even though I am a Ferrari fan, with Jean Todt as the new FIA president will make me feel uncomfortable too.
Does he still have any tie with Ferrari?
Honestly speaking. Can we really find someone who won't be bias toward certain team or certain nationality?
Post 9, superspex, you've got it right. Max is a joke that we don't need and Bernie should leave with him. I still don't think Mad Max will leave until he's dragged away kicking and screaming.
NO F@@KING WAY!!!!!!! Think having Todt in charge will impress fans other than Fartrari fans????? How can a man bias to a team like Fartrari take over and be independant???? How can he NOT be bias???? This whole sorry saga is pathetic. Just when I had hope that the sport I loved was going to be saved, the teams folded like a pack of cards giving Sir Spanksalot just want he wanted. You can't even trust him to leave as he will still have his fingers in the pie that is F1! I am officially done with F1!!!!!!!!
the hamster slapping continues.
i think they should call it ferrari 1 as everything seems to revolve around what they want and not what is good for the sport
pete b
A question often asked of me is why don't I write some new posts and not just post the same old Potter, Bernard, Marion and Marnio posts? Its a good question and I suppose the answer is that I am a sad old woman who has nothing better to do and not only that but these posts take me days and days to write simply because I am so stupid. Fater all that when I post them then you lot unkindly thumb them all down so I have to keep re-posting them, its all I have left in life.
I wish I could contribute something positive but it is not to be, all I am capable of doing is ruining this site.
hello my f1 lonely chaps, it your friend marnio from the peru.
hurrah, the great sir mr mosely has yet again saved the f1.
he is the greatest of the all time.
now you bow to him for what he has done. he your master and you the pigs squealing on this blog aroun d his feet. never forget that he richer, brighter, have the better girlfriends than all you little rats put to the tegether. he the king of f1 and you not fit to wipe his bottom when he have the plop plop..
hello my f1 lonely chaps.
these are the things i like most about the f1
1)the ferrari
2)the fit ladys on the grid with the umberella
3)the big crashes
4)sir max mosely
5) mr ecclestone
these the things i not like about the f1
1) the mclaren men - they the liar the cheat and the crook - good they get lapped every race now.
2)mr hamilton son - he not lie straight in the bed
3)mr glock - he naughty man who fix the last season championship.
4)mr ronald dennis - he balding gentleman who steal the ferrari secrets which almost finish the ferrari.
5) mr hamiltons father - he be on the next "im the celbritity, get me out of here."
(oh, i nearly the forgot, i not like some of the worms who post the nonsense on this blog.)
mr hamiltons son say he stay with mclaren men for life. that nice for him but what do mclaren men say? you see mclaren is now german owned. the parent company is the mercedes benz which is the german. the engine is the german engine. everything about the team is the german. mr hamiltons son now the swiss gentleman he eat much cheese and sings in the morning at mountains. mr hamiltons father is also now the swiss man. in fact there nothing british about this team at all. even the man who tidy up the garage after the race has moved to switzerland with his mother. switzerland is owned by the german. my friends the whole team is GERMAN - and guess what - so is mr glock. now you see why the time stand still for mr glock on the last lap. like he in the time warp. not even the people abducted by the alien lose the amount of time he lost on that last lap. IT IS A DISGRACE!!! ANOTHER CHEATIN YEAR IN 2009 FROUM MCLAREN AND CHEATIN BASHIN MR HAMILTONS SON ....mr a hamilton asun the bigger a cheat
ita a shame the a way a F1 isa now going ita seem to a start once a mr a hamilton asun a joined muclaren from a dirty a tactics onna track thena to the a Spyagate anda then a Lieagate anda witha corrupt a stewards anda keep a changin a rules a F1 asa never a been same a since.. itta nowa a farce a since a mr a hamilton asun arrived ata muclaren they are a now tarnished asa biggest a Cheat anda mr a hamilton asun with a fake a phoney Cheating a title itta couldnt a got any a worse mea think a why a FIA want anda keep a changin the rules after a spyagate anda lieagate toa bring the a JUSTICE a back to the a Tracks
BUTTON THE A NEW KING OFA F1........F1 WORLD CHAMPION 2009-2010....JENSON A BUTTON
a max a mosley a just like a muppet a gordon brown willa run a F1 into the a ground before hea leave a like brown a done toa britain mistake after a mistake anda lies a after a lies but a still hea will a nota GO..me a also stilla not a sure a who the a uglyier a me a potter ora stunning a jeanette
a max a mosley a just like a muppet a gordon brown willa run a F1 into the a ground before hea leave a like brown a done toa britain mistake after a mistake anda lies a after a lies but a still hea will a nota GO..me a also stilla not a sure a who the a uglyier a me a potter ora stunning a jeanette
GREAT NEWS........ Goodbye and so long. Hope we never hear from you again. let's try this again. just below, at #4 I stated the same thread, u jerk offs gave me thumbs down as if I care. The illiterate asrse hole bastardos inbred drunks can go fk themselves. There, now I feel 100% better. I really don't care how most of you feel.
If Todt ends up as head of FIA there will be no hope of Ferrari's special treatment coming to an end. I hope this crisis has led to the other teams insisting that Ferrari get the same financial deal as the rest. After all, Ferrari were complaining the loudest of all that there was a two tier system being brought into play: but there always has been, with the Maranello mob getting a better deal and convenient interpretations of rules all along the way.
Now there's a chance to have a level playing field.
The headmaster is one day gone and chaos starts already in the classroom ;-)))
Gloria Gaynor said it best..
Max
Go on now go
walk out the door
just turn around now
'cause you're not welcome anymore
weren't you the one who tried to hurt me with goodbye
Did you think I'd crumble
Did you think I'd lay down and die
Oh no, not I
I will survive
as long as i know how to love
I know I'll stay alive
I've got all my life to live
I've got all my love to give
and I'll survive
I will survive (hey hey)
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