Autoblog

Rumors have been circulating that CVC, the commercial rights holders to Formula One, have considered selling the series. But before that could happen, they would have to give Bernie Ecclestone the boot.

The reports were fueled by comments made by Max Mosley, the embattled president of the FIA, who related to reporters that conversations about the subject had taken place with executives at CVC. According to Mosley's conclusion, CVC would consider selling Formula One if a huge offer were made – possibly by an Arab consortium – but Ecclestone would need to be replaced because "the whole business depends on a man who is 78 years old". However, CVC issued a strong statement at this past weekend's race in Hungary that it had no immediate plans to sell F1 and was pleased with its performance as well as that of Bernie Ecclestone.

[Source: Autosport, Photo by Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty]

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]

According to the latest reports, FIA president Max Mosley received ample warning that there were those out to expose and discredit him, but Mosley did nothing to alter his bizarre sexual activities in light of the development. The news stems from a Times interview with industrial espionage expert Dean Attew, who claims he had been approached by parties seeking Mosley's embarrassment and removal from office. Attew, who co-founded Titon International with former special forces commander Major-General John Holmes – a business intelligence consultancy that made the news two years ago when former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned by radioactive Polonium 210 – said that he communicated the information to his former colleague, Bernie Ecclestone, who in turn informed Mosley personally. However, Mosley apparently did not take the warnings seriously and was still caught red-handed and -cheeked two months later.

[Source: The Times of London, Photo by Clive Mason/Getty ]

In a letter to members of various FIA constituent bodies, president Max Mosley apologized for the embarrassment caused to the organization by the tabloid report of his erstwhile private exploits. In the same letter, however, Mosley pledged to fight the allegations and remain in his position despite mounting calls for his resignation.

Mosley dismissed the claim that his now-infamous sexual activities had any Nazi connections and pointed to a "covert" operation to discredit him undertaken by persons as yet unidentified through a private investigation firm. The big question is in whose interest would it have been to embarrass Mosley in such a public manner, and the list is long as the FIA president remains a highly controversial character. Follow the link to read more of Mosley's letter to the presidents of the national motorsport clubs, members of the FIA Senate, the World Motor Sport Council and the World Council for Mobility and the Automobile.

[Source: Autosport, Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty]

Despite Bernie Ecclestone's initial support of his colleague Max Mosley, Ecclestone is now publicly urging the embattled FIA president to cancel his planned trip to Bahrain to oversee the grand prix there this coming weekend.

The humiliation which Mosley apparently pursued in a disturbing sexual escapade involving multiple prostitutes in a sado-masochistic nazi-themed orgy was outdone only by the embarrassment which resulted from the public revelation of the episode in the British tabloids. Following the news breaking, Mosley declared he would proceed as normal as if nothing had happened, but Ecclestone says his colleague should think again. Citing public opinion and predicting that the royal family in Bahrain "wouldn't like it" if he came to their country, Bernie expressed concern that the news at the event would be dominated (pardon the expression) by Mosley's scandal instead of remaining focused on the race itself. Mosley's "business as usual" approach may require some further thought, to say the least. Thanks for the tip, Schwag of Tulsa!

[Source: The Times of London, Photo by Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty ]

We love Formula 1. Have for years. We believed it was the pinnacle of motorsport, and by golly each team had the stratospheric budget to prove it. There was a time when a single top team in F1 spent enough to run 12 or 13 top dollar teams in IndyCar. Teams have been wanting the costs to come down, which is fine, because we also miss the days when privateers had a punter's chance at winning a race. Bring back the days of Jordans, Saubers, and Tyrells, we say.

But we're not so sure about the way the FIA is going about its cost cutting. Max Mosley, FIA president, has said that as of 2009, budgets will be capped. The cap isn't set, nor are the details of what is and isn't included as part of the capped amount. For instance, the team principal, driver, and marketing department, as well as the engine, might not be included in the spending limit. If the teams accept a limit, then they'll get other rewards like additional use of their wind tunnels or more computer time for CFD work.

This, along with the 5-year engine freeze (which we still don't understand), is meant to allow teams to operate with a mooted budget amount of $150 million per year. Compared to the nearly $500 million dollars that a team like Ferrari spends, or Toyota's rumored $700 million budget, it will be fascinating to see what teams come up with. It will also be neat to start hearing about the sudden astronomical rise in marketing budgets, and to get a whiff of all those cooked books, because we simply don't believe teams will spare a bit of extra coin when championship silverware is on offer. The FIA meets with teams again at the end of this month to discuss the matter further.

[Source: Motor Authority]

The World Motor Sport Council of the FIA, the international racing authority that governs Formula One, among other series, has rolled out a series of restrictions on the development of F1 cars starting with the coming 2008 season.

The restrictions include a complete freeze on engine development for the next ten years. In a speech delivered last week in Monaco at the Motor Sport Business Forum, FIA President Max Mosley (pictured at right) justified the decision by pointing out that the engines developed by F1's six engine suppliers – Ferrari, Mercedes, BMW, Honda, Toyota and Renault – are already evenly matched and incredibly advanced: "There is no need to develop an F1 engine any further." (Heck, let's go back to foot-powered Flinstones-mobiles then.)

The far-reaching restrictions also covered the use of wind-tunnels for the first time in the formula. The new regulations state that each team can only use one wind-tunnel, can only operate it for 15 runs per 8-hour day, no more than five days per week. Further limitations were set on how the wind-tunnel may be used, and to prevent teams from simply switching their personnel over to even more expensive Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulators, the FIA intends to put a cap on that, too.

Ross Brawn, former technical director at Ferrari and new team principal at Honda, recently pointed out that restrictions like these don't achieve their intended goal of reducing costs, they just force teams to find newer, more expensive ways to gain a performance edge. We'd have to agree with Brawn: you can't contain a competitive spirit, and F1's chock-full of 'em.

[Source: Autosport]