Tuesday, May 25, 2021
Formula 1 mourns Max Mosley
Powerful, visionary – and controversial
An obituary by Emmanuel Schneider
Max Mosley, the long-time boss of the world association FIA, shaped an important era in Formula 1. He was vehemently committed to the safety of drivers and demonstrated foresight early on – but this also cost him his job. He was never undisputed.
Romain Grosjean had some guardian angels with him in the boliden during the horror crash in Bahrain in November 2020. The Frenchman miraculously survived in the fireball and split Haas wreck with burns and injuries to his hand. It was not only guardian angels, but also the repeatedly tightened Formula 1 safety precautions that saved the Haas driver.
These high safety standards are part of Max Mosley’s important legacy. The long-time FIA boss died on Monday at the age of 81 of cancer. During his 16-year tenure, the Briton tirelessly pushed for improvements and the highest level of safety for drivers, not only in Formula 1 but also in general road traffic.
Mosley had the power to move this project forward. From 1993 to 2009 he led the fortunes of the world association FIA and in this position was the strong man alongside Formula 1 Zampano Bernie Ecclestone. The duo shaped the racing series enormously, turned it into a billion-dollar business and shied away from little or no conflict. In the team, Ecclestone was often the dealmaker, the seller. Mosley the lawyer’s brains and pullers.
The doctor of physics and law could have made a career in politics, not least because of his legendary instinct for power and intellect. However, Max Mosley only got lost in English politics for a short time. The dark family legacy was a burden. Mosley’s father, Sir Oswald, was the founder of the British Fascist Party and remains highly controversial to this day. Instead of going into politics, Max Mosley got off to a flying start in motorsport.
As early as the 1960s, he got behind the wheel himself, but as a driver “only” made it into Formula 2 and said he was less talented. After retiring as an active driver, he quickly founded the Formula 1 team March. It stood for the names of Mosley and his friends: Max Mosley, Alan Rees, Graham Coaker and Robin Herd. The team under Mosley achieved two third places in the constructors’ championship between 1969 and 1977.
Then the great age of the union offices began. First he took a position at the team association FOCA (Formula One Constructors’ Association). There he worked as a legal advisor at Ecclestone’s side against the F1 and FISA (then world federation) establishment. Probably the greatest success: Mosley was one of the creators and masterminds of the Concorde Agreement, the “Formula 1 Constitution”, which to this day regulates the most important matters of the premier class between the FIA, teams and FOM (F1 management).
In 1991 he changed sides and became President of FISA (the association that was responsible for the Formula 1 sporting regulations and that had been in a clinch with the FIA for many years). In 1993, when he prevailed against Jean-Marie Balestre after the dissolution of FISA, he became head of the powerful FIA. Buddy Ecclestone held the strings in F1. The duo had made it to the top. Both were united by a great familiarity and friendship. The 90-year-old Ecclestone is grieving. “It’s like losing a family member, a brother,” he told the BBC. “He’s done a lot of good things, not just in motorsport, but also in the industry. He’s been very good at making sure people build cars that are safe.”
That was Mosley’s great achievement. This development was catalyzed by the deep shock in 1994. After the fatal accidents of F1 legend Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger at the black weekend in Imola in May 1994, he pushed the safety project ceaselessly forward. Tracks were adjusted, the cars’ performance was reduced, and new tires led to a slower pace in the corners – even against resistance from F1.
The introduction of the HANS (Head and Neck Support) system for neck and neck protection also goes back to Mosley. The motorsport official also campaigned for more safety in cars outside of F1. For example, in the development of crash tests and the “Euro NCAP”, a program for assessing safety in cars.
“For me he was at the official level like Michael Schumacher on the driver’s side,” said RTL reporter and F1 veteran Peter Reichert in the RTL Insta-Talk “Last Round” about Mosley’s work. “Safety in Formula 1, in motorsport and in the auto industry was something that was very, very important to him. He was like a Duracell bunny. He never stopped developing new systems.”
There was no shortage of ideas and projects with the bustling motorsport boss. And it is somewhat ironic that Formula 1 has now implemented a core idea from Mosley with a significant delay. Several years ago, Mosley had asked for the cost cap for the F1 teams (45 million euros at the time). The Briton had repeatedly emphasized: The F1 is far too expensive. Especially with a view to the midfield teams. His fear: too little competition threatens Formula 1 in the long run.
And precisely that move cost Mosley another term in 2009. He didn’t run anymore. The dispute with the teams about a cost cap finally brought the racing teams against Mosley. The teams were beside themselves, even threatening their own racing series, if you will, the equivalent of the “Super League” in European football. Twelve years later, the budget cap ($ 145 million) is an integral part of Formula 1.
The impressive and colorful life story of Mosley, however, also includes an inglorious scandal. The British tabloid “News of the world” published a spicy sex video a year before its FIA exit (2008), which made headlines around the world. Mosley survived the affair – the vast majority of the FIA voted for him on the no-confidence vote. Mosley also successfully fought against the reporting that spoke of a “Nazi orgy” – the scandal attracted even more attention due to Mosley’s family history.
Mosley had a new project he was passionate about: the fight for the right to privacy. It wasn’t until 2015 that Mosley’s legal battle with search engine giant Google ended. He wanted to force the tech giant to stop showing the video and pictures. “I figured if I don’t do it, then they’ll go on acting like this for at least ten years, exposing people who can’t defend themselves. I think I’ve done the right thing and I’m very happy with it,” Mosley once said in an interview with the “German Press Agency”.
Then he withdrew more and more into private life. Mosley headlines were rare. Now and then he spoke up, mostly with critical tones towards the new F1 leadership Liberty Media. His commitment to more safety in motorsport, from which Romain Grosjean also benefited, will not be forgotten.
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