Autoblog

Bernie Ecclestone, the billionaire brain behind the commercial side of Formula 1, has for the first time publicly called for Max Mosley's resignation. When the Mosley scandal broke, Ecclestone, who has known Mosley for 40 years, did not take a stand on Mosley's resignation. All Ecclestone would say is, "It doesn't look good, does it?"

On June 3, Mosley faces a vote of confidence among his colleagues at the FIA. Mosley said he would not resign, and as he appeared to weather the worst of it, he then turned to defending his position in a letter to constituent FIA clubs. But the letter didn't merely attempt to defend his position; it essentially claimed that Formula 1 is in a major crisis, and using the logic that you don't switch horses midstream, Max should be the one to finish righting the ship. It also asserted that the commercial rights holders -- Ecclestone and friends -- were basically trying to do away with the FIA.

That letter made Ecclestone question whether Mosley "wants a war with" him. Ecclestone put out a response letter saying that there was no crisis, he had nothing to say against the FIA, and he looked forward to the next Concorde Agreement governing F1. And now he's called for Max's resignation. Max is expected to survive tomorrow's vote, and if he does, there'll probably be at least one more person who isn't happy about it.

[Source: AFP]

FIA president Max Mosley, seen above at the 2006 Bahrain Grand Prix, had a whole pack of nails hammered further into his career's coffin as the Kingdom of Bahrain asked the embattled FIA president not to come to the race in the gulf state. The letter, sent by the country's ruler Crown Prince Sheikh Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, said it would be "inappropriate" for Mosley to show up in Bahrain and hit the news around the same time as the FIA announced that Mosley – who redefined the term "auto erotic" with the revelation of his disturbing sex life – would stay in London during the race to deal with "legal matters".

As if that weren't enough to end Mosley's career, several major automakers participating in Formula One have lined up to express their dismay at Mosley's behavior. BMW and Mercedes-Benz issued a joint statement calling Mosley's actions "disgraceful" and calling on the FIA to take action against its president. The statement from the rival German automakers was followed by similar declarations from Honda and from Toyota, urging the FIA to impeach Mosley in light of his "behaviour which could be understood to be racist or anti-Semitic". Don't be surprised to see other teams and manufacturers issuing similar statements as the heat continues to rise for Mosley.

[Source: Autosport, Photo by DAMIEN MEYER/AFP/Getty]