BREAKING: F1 reunites as Max Mosely reportedly forced to quit F1
by Chris Paukert on Jun 24th 2009 at 9:47AM 
After all of this year's soap opera stories in Formula One, it appears there will be a unified championship series next year after all. According to The Times UK, controversial F1 boss Max Mosley has been "forced into a humiliating climbdown as president of the FIA," and his reign is over effective today.
Apparently, with the Formula One Teams Association's (FOTA) plan to build its own breakaway series and take most of its highest-profile (and highest-dollar) draws away with it, the FIA realized that something had to be done. Eight teams, including Ferrari, McLaren, BMW Sauber, and Brawn GP had pulled out of the series over concerns relating to a new £40m budget cap (around $66m USD).
With Mosley's departure effective immediately, F1 teams and the sanctioning body have agreed to cost cuts with the goal of getting spending outlays back down to the that of the early Nineties within two years.
Mosley has agreed to end his 16 year term at the FIA and not seek re-election to another office.
[Source: Times UK | Image: Mark Thompson/Getty]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
vf34wrx 9:53AM (6/24/2009)
woohoo
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Aki 3:05PM (6/24/2009)
The BBC story is more thorough and complete:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8116756.stm
ale 6:30PM (6/24/2009)
amen.. ha-HA! but yea woohoo!
sparrk 9:54AM (6/24/2009)
this was so obvious, but with Bernie still there F1 will continue to suck.
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kfj 9:56AM (6/24/2009)
Give it a few more years and he will be gone.
PuBeLeSs 10:19AM (6/24/2009)
he will die soon. hopefully...
Username 6:31PM (6/24/2009)
Bernie is a bigger douche bag than Mosley.. He can't be gone soon enough. I would have liked to see a breakaway series to screw Bernie.. and bring a race back to Montreal
Swede 9:54AM (6/24/2009)
Hehe it's like the fall of Saddam all over again
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Protzenegger 10:09AM (6/24/2009)
Hah.
Cougs 10:06AM (6/24/2009)
Don't let zee door hit you on zee vay out, yah?
Or maybe he would enjoy that...
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John Johnson 10:05AM (6/24/2009)
Nice bokeh.
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pixelnate 10:09AM (6/24/2009)
It's about frickin' time that he was shown the door.
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Protzenegger 10:10AM (6/24/2009)
Don't forget to salute before you leave, Max!
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Brian 10:15AM (6/24/2009)
Goodish news but to little to late. F1 is tarnished and will forever be. How can you trust a sport that has so many behind the scenes deals that you cannot trust a race result.
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Kitko 11:38AM (6/24/2009)
F1 manufacturers proved they can hold their ground against Mosley who appeared to work progressivelly to destroy the sport. Major changes to regulations every season, last minute changes to scoring system, etc.... and then the budget.
Do you know how much is 40 million pounds? It's the price for 4 houses in Chelsea or Kensington in London. It's not a budget for a F1 team per season, it's something you finance a Tour de France cycling team with.
Mosley had to give up. What did he have? Few B-class teams racing on circuits in the middle of nowhere. No best drivers, no top teams, no manufacturers. The only thing he had was Monaco which would be lame because a) it requires Ferrari's participation b) can you imagine celebrities flocking in to see also-runs.
Brian 12:27PM (6/24/2009)
What worries me greatly is nothing yet from FOTA and Mad Max could always change his mind come October.
It is a shambles and I am not sure how the two could have done so much to f up what was a great sport.
Flea 10:18AM (6/24/2009)
on a leather armchair, in a dimly lit room somewhere in Italy, Montezemolo is spinning the Prosecco in his glass and muttering "just as planned..".
For the anime enthusiasts: "keikaku doori..."
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tankd0g 10:22AM (6/24/2009)
Maximum embarrassment is finally gone? There may be hope for the FIA yet.
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Mike 10:22AM (6/24/2009)
I don't think it was just about dollars. I think it was personal. After the sex scandal Mercedes, Ferrari even Prince Rainier of Monaco wanted him gone. They got their way now back to work.
"They agreed to cut costs with a goal of getting spending outlays back down to the that of the early Nineties within two years"
Sounds like a lazy statement to make it look like it was about $$$.
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TORONTO 10:23AM (6/24/2009)
Did we really need that much of a close up of his face??
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