Autoblog

Remember the good old days when a prominent chief executive would have disappeared into obscurity after having been exposed by the newspapers? Well those good old days are gone, and Max Mosley is happy for it.

It's been a long and hard road for Max Mosley, but the embattled FIA president seems well suited for the ordeal. Mosley was caught on film partaking in what was described as a Nazi-themed S&M orgy with several prostitutes. He then survived a vote of no confidence in his leadership in the motorsport governing body, and launched a lawsuit against the News of the World, the British tabloid that broke the story. The judge returned the verdict from that lawsuit today, awarding Mosley £60,000 in exemplary damages, plus an additional estimated £1 million in expenses.

Mosley's case hinged on the right to privacy, and upon receiving the judgment (so to speak), the prototypical auto-erotic figure noted that he hoped the ruling would serve as a deterrent for other publications from pursuing "this type of invasive and salacious journalism". The moneys awarded by the court won't go into Mosley's pocket, as they're earmarked towards the road safety and environmental work undertaken by the FIA Foundation.

[Source: Autosport, Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty]

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]

The world of motorsports was shocked by a report of a video tape which surfaced, allegedly showing FIA president Max Mosley participating in a bizarre sadomasochistic orgy. The reports emanate from British tabloid News of the World, but have been spreading rapidly across mainstream media and the motoring press.

The video reportedly depicts Mosley engaging the services of five prostitutes in London to stage a perverse reenactment of a Nazi concentration camp in which Mosley plays both victim and oppressor, alternately receiving lashes from a dominatrix and barking orders in German to the prostitutes dressed in pseudo-Auschwitz uniforms. The son of infamous wartime British fascist leader Oswald Mosley, who married Max's mother Diana in the presence of Adolf Hitler at a ceremony in the home of Nazi arch-propagandist Joseph Goebbels, Mosley had tried to help resuscitate his father's fascist political career before leaving politics for the world of motor racing. Meanwhile Mosley's closest allies include former Ferrari chief Jean Todt (the son of a Holocaust survivor) and Jewish business mogul Bernie Ecclestone, who has publicly come to Mosley's defense. Mosley is reportedly considering pursuing legal action against News of the World, while sources suggest the World Council of the FIA may be preparing a vote of no confidence in Mosley's leadership. In the meantime it's business as usual for Mosley, who is heading to Bahrain to preside over the grand prix there next weekend. (Thanks to David who brought this story to our attention.)

[Source: News of the World and The Times of London]