With Sir Jackie Stewart asking more pertinent questions regarding the FIA's actions this season and calling for Max Mosley's resignation, Max has responded with more evidence of his inability to understand how damaging his direction of the governing body has been to the sport. He seems to think that his answers defeat Jackie's criticisms but, on examination, they turn out to be just half-truths and more slurs on McLaren.
Max Mosley
Consider this delightful statement from Mosley: "It is not the role of the FIA to court popularity by supporting one party or the other. It is the role of the FIA to ensure that the rules of the sport are respected and that fairness is applied consistently for all competitors." Actually, that is exactly what Sir Jackie is saying - that the FIA is not even-handed in its dealings with the teams. And it is not just Stewart who thinks so; Mosley's fellow FIA supremo, Bernie Ecclestone, told Sport Bild magazine in September last year (long before there was any hint of McLaren's troubles in 2007) "that Ferrari is the only team 'that gets political support' from the FIA." If even Bernie admits that the FIA is not equally fair to all teams, it is time that Mosley proved otherwise, rather than just repeating his assertion like a mantra.
Sir Jackie has raised a valid point in suggesting that the FIA would not dream of putting observers into the Ferrari garage to ensure equal treatment beween its drivers. Mosley seeks to hide behind the Spanish Motor Sport Authority on this one, asking whether the FIA should have ignored their request that they oversee the McLaren garage at the Brazilian GP. The answer is, of course, that yes, they should have responded by saying that the FIA already inspects all teams at a GP to ensure fairness and there was no reason to suspect that anything would be different on this occasion. Instead, he prefers to insult McLaren with the suggestion that their assurance of equal treatment for their drivers cannot be trusted.
And then back we go to the allegation that McLaren had access to Ferrari information in the early part of the season. It seems that Mosley will never admit that the only thing proved at the WMSC meeting was that de la Rosa and Alonso talked about using information from Coughlan. It is merely Max's opinion that the information must have penetrated further into the organization, not fact, and he has no right to use this to cast doubt on the integrity of other McLaren employees.
The final insult is his assertion that McLaren did not appeal against the WMSC's verdict because they knew it was correct. This is patent nonsense. McLaren did not appeal because they knew that no FIA court would ever find contrary to Max Mosley's opinion and to take the case to the civil courts would merely result in the sport enduring even more bad publicity. It seems that McLaren and Ron Dennis have more concern for the image of F1 than does Mosley and the FIA.
Does Mosley not realize that it is illogical to counter arguments against the competence of the WMSC ruling by using the ruling as your evidence? That's what we find unsound, Max, the ruling you keep waving at us as justification for all your actions. That is what has brought the sport into disrepute this season, this ruling based upon opinion and your ill-considered comments thereafter, not anything done by McLaren or said by Jackie Stewart.
The more Mosley opens his mouth, the more apparent it becomes that he has become unfit to run the FIA. To insinuate that the motive for Sir Jackie's comments is increased sales for his book is yet more insult to counter criticism and we expect better from a president of an international sport. There have been valid criticisms of your WMSC's judgement and sentence in the McLaren case, Max; face it and answer them if you can.
Max Mosley
Consider this delightful statement from Mosley: "It is not the role of the FIA to court popularity by supporting one party or the other. It is the role of the FIA to ensure that the rules of the sport are respected and that fairness is applied consistently for all competitors." Actually, that is exactly what Sir Jackie is saying - that the FIA is not even-handed in its dealings with the teams. And it is not just Stewart who thinks so; Mosley's fellow FIA supremo, Bernie Ecclestone, told Sport Bild magazine in September last year (long before there was any hint of McLaren's troubles in 2007) "that Ferrari is the only team 'that gets political support' from the FIA." If even Bernie admits that the FIA is not equally fair to all teams, it is time that Mosley proved otherwise, rather than just repeating his assertion like a mantra.
Sir Jackie has raised a valid point in suggesting that the FIA would not dream of putting observers into the Ferrari garage to ensure equal treatment beween its drivers. Mosley seeks to hide behind the Spanish Motor Sport Authority on this one, asking whether the FIA should have ignored their request that they oversee the McLaren garage at the Brazilian GP. The answer is, of course, that yes, they should have responded by saying that the FIA already inspects all teams at a GP to ensure fairness and there was no reason to suspect that anything would be different on this occasion. Instead, he prefers to insult McLaren with the suggestion that their assurance of equal treatment for their drivers cannot be trusted.
And then back we go to the allegation that McLaren had access to Ferrari information in the early part of the season. It seems that Mosley will never admit that the only thing proved at the WMSC meeting was that de la Rosa and Alonso talked about using information from Coughlan. It is merely Max's opinion that the information must have penetrated further into the organization, not fact, and he has no right to use this to cast doubt on the integrity of other McLaren employees.
The final insult is his assertion that McLaren did not appeal against the WMSC's verdict because they knew it was correct. This is patent nonsense. McLaren did not appeal because they knew that no FIA court would ever find contrary to Max Mosley's opinion and to take the case to the civil courts would merely result in the sport enduring even more bad publicity. It seems that McLaren and Ron Dennis have more concern for the image of F1 than does Mosley and the FIA.
Does Mosley not realize that it is illogical to counter arguments against the competence of the WMSC ruling by using the ruling as your evidence? That's what we find unsound, Max, the ruling you keep waving at us as justification for all your actions. That is what has brought the sport into disrepute this season, this ruling based upon opinion and your ill-considered comments thereafter, not anything done by McLaren or said by Jackie Stewart.
The more Mosley opens his mouth, the more apparent it becomes that he has become unfit to run the FIA. To insinuate that the motive for Sir Jackie's comments is increased sales for his book is yet more insult to counter criticism and we expect better from a president of an international sport. There have been valid criticisms of your WMSC's judgement and sentence in the McLaren case, Max; face it and answer them if you can.