Mark Gallagher on the enigmatic Max Mosley and his F1 legacy
MAX MOSLEY: A DIFFICULT MAN TO IGNORE
The death of Max Mosley has caused many to reflect on the life and legacy of a pivotal figure in world motorsport. It is clear that mainstream media did not much like Mosley.
The feeling was mutual.
He had the misfortune to be born into an infamous family and the good fortune to benefit from their wealth. Following his death, reports focused on the political beliefs of his parents, Sir Oswald and Lady Diana Mosley, and the fact that Max Mosley had sex.
While many people have sex with several partners during their lifetime, often using many different rooms in their homes to do so, Mosley’s mistake was to have sex with all of them at once and in a basement.
Throw in the Nazi-associations of his parents, secure some clandestine footage, and the News of the World came up with a story which it was sure would bury him. Except Mosley came out fighting, defeated publishers News Group in court, and was awarded damages.
He then joined campaigners, including actor Hugh Grant, in campaigning for a free and accountable press, providing funding for claimants affected by the phone hacking scandal which consumed the News of the World and led to its closure.
Mosley was nothing if not combative. He had spent some time in the Territorial Army Parachute Regiment and was a trained barrister. When it came to the politics of Formula 1 he was quite the adversary. Few knew how to deal with him.
Debates tended to be one sided. As GP Racing’s regular contributor Andrew Benson wrote in his obituary for the BBC, Mosley was patrician and patronising. If he talked down to you it was because he knew for a fact that you were beneath him.
His achievements in driving Formula 1’s safety revolution in the wake of the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, then transferring that know-how into the automotive industry through the Euro NCAP and Global NCAP crash testing programmes, is highly significant. We have much to be grateful for.
The mainstream media struggled to acknowledge that, let alone demonstrate an understanding of the detail.
During the 16 years in which Mosley was FIA president, he and Ecclestone ran the sport with fear and favour. Leadership dished up as command and control with a side order of menace. It was their way or the highway.
When the Formula One Teams Association, led by Ferrari’s Luca di Montezemolo, started making noises about staging a breakaway series in 2009, Mosley and Ecclestone set about looking for ways to ensure F1 could continue.
Cosworth was called to a meeting in London with Mosley and Ecclestone, and asked whether it could supply engines to some teams. Maybe even all. The answer was yes, but the issue was finding the money needed to retune the CA V8 engine in order to meet the 18,000rpm rev limit.
Turning to Ecclestone, barrister’s brain engaged, Mosley summarised that since neither the FIA nor Cosworth had the funds needed to redevelop the engine, there was only one person sitting at the table who could make it happen. Minutes later Cosworth had the £3m which enabled it to undertake the necessary work, supplying Williams, Virgin Racing, HRT and Lotus Racing (subsequently Caterham) in 2010.
Mosley belonged to an era of F1 marked and marred by strong, individual leaders who gave no quarter and were unafraid of some light, open warfare. It was fascinating but seldom pleasant. Few regret its passing.