Mosley Facing Renewed Calls To Quit

Max Mosley’s victory in the High Court against the News of the World in winning invasion of privacy damages has led to renewed calls for the FIA president to resign.

Formula One legend Sir Jackie Stewart has led the charge for Mosley’s resignation believing his tenure as president has been irreparably damaged by the scandal.

Stewart said: ‘Max should now step down and be cut out of it totally. His stewardship of the FIA simply cannot be undertaken in its fullest form because of what has occurred.’
 
Mosley won £60,000 in damages from the News of the World, which claimed an orgy he took part in with prostitutes had Nazi overtones.

Mosley won a vote of confidence to stay on as president of the FIA – a position he has held since 1993 – after the publication of the story in May in the News of the World newspaper.

But more than a third of delegates did not back the 68-year-old, who won 103 of 169 votes.

Former Jordan boss Eddie Jordan added: ‘Max has proven that he is a strong man, he’s gone to court and he’s not been bullied by a newspaper. However, there’s still a slur against him and people don’t forget that easily. If I was Max now having won this case I would say… I’m out of here.’

Former Minardi boss Paul Stoddart said that the FIA was ‘without credibility’ if Mosley remained in charge.

Mosley has stated that he will see out of his current term of office which expires in October 2009 but will not seek to be re-elected.

Following the initial vote of confidence President of the American Automobile Association, Robert Darbelnet, said he was disappointed with the outcome and was considering withdrawing his country’s membership from the FIA.

Along with the Americans, the Japanese, French, Australian and Spanish automobile federations all voted against Mosley as did the German motoring federation ADAC – Europe’s largest automobile organisation – who froze all its activities with the FIA.