An Assessment of Max Mosley, Former President of the FIA

In October of 2009, Max Mosley stepped downunable to sustain that kind of expenditure during a
as the president of the FIAglobal fiscal crisis.
(Fédération Internationale deDuring the last ten years or so of Mosley's
l'Automobile), and was replaced by the newlytenure, the sport had been dominated by car
elected Jean Todt, whom Mosley had endorsed.manufacturers who had acquired teams (e.g.
Mosley had been president of motorsport'sHonda, Toyota, Ford, Mercedes, Renault and
premier governing body since 1993, and his 16BMW), either in total, or in partnership, and if the
year reign had not been without controversy.manufacturers saw a downtturn in sales, their
While the FIA, a non-profit organizationability to fund their sporting efforts, if not their
headquartered in Paris, is organized to representwhole rationale for participation in the sport, would
the interests professional motorsports, amateurbe called into question.
racing clubs and automobile users in general,Mosley was proven correct on this score. Of the
worldwide, it is primarily known as the governingaformentioned manufacturers, only Mercedes and
body of the Formula 1, the World RallyRenault remain. Fiat, which owns the Ferrari
Championship and other racing series. In was in hismarque, is an anomaly. The Ferrari operation was
role as the head of the governing body ofactually created as a means to finance founder
Formula 1 that Mosely achieved his reputation.Enzo Ferrari's racing activities.
Early in his tenure of office, Mosley establishedWhat is the final verdict on Max Mosley's
himself as a proponent of increased safety in theleadership of the FIA. In the credit column, he
sport. Following the deaths of Rollandmust be recognized first and foremost for his
Ratzenberger and three-time world championconsistent effort to improve safety in the sport.
Aytron Senna at Imola, in 1994, Mosley pushedSince the fateful weekend at Imola in 1994, there
the FIA to establish new technical safteyhave been no driver deaths in Formula 1. Even
measures that would improve driver saftey.though the cars are designed to carry not an
These changes included increased cockpitextra ounce of weight, they have proven to be
protection, and restricted rear diffusers, which hadenormously resilient in crash conditions.
the effecting of reducing downforce, which in turnAlso, Mosley correctly predicted the need for cost
would reduce the cornering speeds of the cars.control in the face of economic challenges that
Many Formula 1 team principals criticized the newthe sport was sure to encounter. As a result of
measures as being ill-considered and arbitrary, but,his efforts, the prospects for the sport's long
for better or worse, Max Mosley had establishedterm viability have been enhanced.
his management style.On the other hand, Mosley could be willful about
Other rule changes Mosley promoted and sawhis ideas even when opposition was universal. For
ushered into the sport included mid-race refuelingthe 2009 season, the FIA introduced the use of
(which returned to the sport in 1994, for the firstKERS (Kineteic Energy Recovery System), which
time since 1983), which was intended to introducewas a racing version of a system used hybrid
a new element of strategy into the races; androad cars. On road cars, such systems are
grooved tires, which reduced tire adhesion, thusdesigned to save fuel. As it was developed for
slowing the cars in the corners.Formula 1, however, KERS collected kinetic
Unfortunately, since the grooved tires (used forenergy normally dissipated as heat under braking,
the 1998 - 2008 seasons) reduced mechanicalstored it in a special battery, and then used the
grip, the cars became more dependent onconverted engergy for a power boost on track
aerodynamic grip, from their front and rear wings.straightaways.
The aero-flow from Formula 1 cars is such that ifMosley promoted the idea as a means of
one car follows another too closely into a turn,enhancing the "green" image of Formula 1. There
the car that is following will be caught in theis very little that is green about Formula 1,
leading car's "dirty air," i.e. a turbulent airflow thathowever, and the system did nothing to save
interupts the steady downforce on the followingfuel. The use of KERS was optional for 2009, and
car's wings. The greater the cars' dependency onset to be mandatory for 2010. Only the
aerodynamic downforce, the more vulnerablebest-funded teams undertook development of
they are to this effect. The result: close racingthe system for 2009, at the cost of tens of
and overtaking, which is what all motor racingmillions of dollars.
fans hope to see, is vastly inhibited.In the end, when the teams signed a new
The unintended effects of grooved tires wereConcorde agreement for 2010, the mandatory
long known, but while virtually all the teamsincorporation of KERS was revised. According to
supported a return to "slicks," i.e. non-groved tires,the rules, it is still optional, but the teams have
Mosley turned a deaf ear to these protests.mutually agreed not to use it. So much for one of
There were many such examples of Mosley'sMosley's brilliant ideas. Ultimately, it was seen as
supposedly arbitrary and dictorial style, including hisnothing more than a PR ploy for the sport, and,
efforts to impose limitations on testing, engineconsidering the cost of the system's
supply and total team budgets. To his credit,development, counterproductive in light of
Mosley was wary of the potential effects of aMosley's other cost-cutting initiatives.
global recession, should one occur. He realized thatBut such was Max Mosley, a host of
the best-funded teams, which were spendingcontradictions.
perhaps as much as US $500 million would be