Ecclestone renews call for Mosley to stand down

05/06/2008

Speaking to The Independent, Bernie Ecclestone has once again called on Max Mosley to stand down as President of the FIA, despite the Englishman receiving a resounding vote of confidence from the majority of members earlier in the week.

"I knew he would win," Ecclestone told the British newspaper. "There was no way he could lose. But I still don't think it's good for him, or for the FIA, to be honest. He said he wanted to finish at the end of 2007, and then the end of this year, before all this happened.

"Max should stand down in November," he continued. "For me it's a difficult situation because I run the Formula One Group of companies, and the teams - the manufacturers - are violently opposed to him. But 62 per cent of the automobile clubs that make up the FIA voted to retain him."

Then, bringing an expression featuring the words 'pot', 'kettle' and 'black' to mind, the F1 supremo said: "Max has always ruled by fear," before adding, "but I think more people will be likely to take him on after this."

Ecclestone reiterated his earlier claim that having received the FIA's vote of confidence Mosley will seek to serve another term, despite his pledge that he will stand down next year.

"I've always said that Max will be the President until he dies," said Ecclestone. "What many people don't understand is that he enjoys confrontation. He likes argument! These things stimulate him."

In response to Mosley's recent claim that the future of F1 is at stake, with Ecclestone and CVC seeking to take total control of the sport, the Englishman spoke of his hopes that the Concorde Agreement might be extended in the near future.

"We want Max's signature on a new document. He doesn't want to do that because he feels he has more power if he doesn't sign. But he doesn't need more power. The big manufacturers know just how much they want to spend, to be competitive. We just need to write the regulation to achieve that, and move forwards."