Autosport reports that Max Mosley has refused to back down from his ridiculing of Sir Jackie Stewart recently. At a media lunch, Mosley described Stewart as a "certified idiot" who dresses oddly. He also said that Sir Jackie does not know what is going on because he never stops talking and that "he goes round dressed up as a 1930s music hall man."
Sir Jackie Stewart
Stewart is reported to be considering legal action against Max for his remarks which, as pointed out by Damon Hill in a letter to Autosport magazine, were particularly insulting since Sir Jackie is well know to be a dyslexic. But Max apparently stands by what he says, furious at Stewart's criticisms of the WMSC's investigation into and punishment of McLaren's alleged use of Ferrari documents earlier this year.
For some time now, Max's actions and words have struck me as personally motivated and ill considered at best. The abuse he has hurled at Stewart merely for criticizing the WMSC (not Mosley himself) is merely the latest in a series of remarks that appear to stem from very personal feelings indeed. I begin to wonder if power has gone to the man's head and what we are witnessing is a complete breakdown in his connection with reality.
Consider the differences between what the two men said. Stewart said that the WMSC's sanctions "probably wouldn’t have held up in a normal civil court." Nothing controversial in that, in my opinion - to anyone who knows something of the law, it is pretty obvious.
Sir Jackie went on to say, "I thought that it was handled very poorly, and I think (the fine) was (handed down) because it would get an immense amount of attention globally. It seems some of the most powerful people (in F1) are more aligned to Ferrari. There are more Ferrari representatives on the World Council than anybody else."
Note that Stewart says it is his opinion; he is not claiming omniscience or anthing like it, although much of what he says is verifiable fact. There either are or are not that many Ferrari representatives on the World Council.
Instead of answering Sir Jackie with reason and facts, Max proceeds to insult him with a tirade of ridicule, presumably assuming that this will discredit what Stewart has said. It does not appear to strike him (hence his refusal to retract the remarks) that insult is not a suitable defence against criticism and is certainly not the sort of thing we should expect from a president of the FIA. If Max feels that Sir Jackie was wrong in anything that he said, it is not unreasonable to expect that he should prove it.
Of course, we understand why Max has reacted in this way. He is angry that the WMSC, a committee that he sees as an extension of himself (read the transcript to see how much participation there was by other delegates in the McLaren case proceedings) and has allowed emotion to fuel his statements. The worrying thing is that he stands by them.
A reasonable man calms down after the release of emotion and can see that he has acted injudiciously; on most occasions, he will apologize for such hasty acts. Yet Max is sticking to what amounts to a string of insults and cannot see that this compounds his problem. This surely is the behavior of a man becoming unbalanced with pride and power.
As far as I can see, it is very likely that Sir Jackie would win quite easily in any suit brought against Max for his statements and that would be a very good thing. For far too long Mosley has been allowed to rule F1 without fear of contradiction and it is time he was revealed as a long way from perfect.
Sir Jackie Stewart
Stewart is reported to be considering legal action against Max for his remarks which, as pointed out by Damon Hill in a letter to Autosport magazine, were particularly insulting since Sir Jackie is well know to be a dyslexic. But Max apparently stands by what he says, furious at Stewart's criticisms of the WMSC's investigation into and punishment of McLaren's alleged use of Ferrari documents earlier this year.
For some time now, Max's actions and words have struck me as personally motivated and ill considered at best. The abuse he has hurled at Stewart merely for criticizing the WMSC (not Mosley himself) is merely the latest in a series of remarks that appear to stem from very personal feelings indeed. I begin to wonder if power has gone to the man's head and what we are witnessing is a complete breakdown in his connection with reality.
Consider the differences between what the two men said. Stewart said that the WMSC's sanctions "probably wouldn’t have held up in a normal civil court." Nothing controversial in that, in my opinion - to anyone who knows something of the law, it is pretty obvious.
Sir Jackie went on to say, "I thought that it was handled very poorly, and I think (the fine) was (handed down) because it would get an immense amount of attention globally. It seems some of the most powerful people (in F1) are more aligned to Ferrari. There are more Ferrari representatives on the World Council than anybody else."
Note that Stewart says it is his opinion; he is not claiming omniscience or anthing like it, although much of what he says is verifiable fact. There either are or are not that many Ferrari representatives on the World Council.
Instead of answering Sir Jackie with reason and facts, Max proceeds to insult him with a tirade of ridicule, presumably assuming that this will discredit what Stewart has said. It does not appear to strike him (hence his refusal to retract the remarks) that insult is not a suitable defence against criticism and is certainly not the sort of thing we should expect from a president of the FIA. If Max feels that Sir Jackie was wrong in anything that he said, it is not unreasonable to expect that he should prove it.
Of course, we understand why Max has reacted in this way. He is angry that the WMSC, a committee that he sees as an extension of himself (read the transcript to see how much participation there was by other delegates in the McLaren case proceedings) and has allowed emotion to fuel his statements. The worrying thing is that he stands by them.
A reasonable man calms down after the release of emotion and can see that he has acted injudiciously; on most occasions, he will apologize for such hasty acts. Yet Max is sticking to what amounts to a string of insults and cannot see that this compounds his problem. This surely is the behavior of a man becoming unbalanced with pride and power.
As far as I can see, it is very likely that Sir Jackie would win quite easily in any suit brought against Max for his statements and that would be a very good thing. For far too long Mosley has been allowed to rule F1 without fear of contradiction and it is time he was revealed as a long way from perfect.