London , May 31 (DPA) Max Mosley must step down as president of motorsport’s world body FIA over a sex scandal instead of seeking a vote of confidence, Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone said in an interview published Saturday.
Ecclestone told the Daily Telegraph that Mosley was entitled to a private life in principle, but that an episode involving prostitutes and alleged Nazi role-playing must make him quit FIA.
“He should stand down out of responsibility for the institution he represents, including F1. Everyone who I speak to in a position of authority across F1 rings me to say he should leave,” said Ecclestone.
“It is regretful that he has not made that decision.”
Ecclestone’s statements came three days before Mosley seeks a vote of confidence Tuesday at a special FIA assembly in Paris.
“The last thing most people involved in the sport, including the clubs, would want to see is Max in a position where he could be forced to stand down. I don’t want to see that. I’ve been a friend of Max for 40 years. I would hate to see him go in this way after all he has done for the sport,” Ecclestone said.
Mosley has not disputed to be a man shown in a video with prostitutes but has dismissed a Nazi connotation. He is suing the British newspaper which exposed him.
Mosley has rejected various calls for resignation, ranging from F1 teams and car manufacturers to the motorsport clubs for which FIA is the global body.
But Ecclestone would have none of it, in the interest of Formula One, FIA and Mosley himself.
“Since the story broke, I have been under enormous pressure from the people who invest in Formula One, sponsors and manufacturers, over this issue. They point out that as a chief executive or chief operating officer of a major company they would have gone either immediately, or within 24 hours, in the same circumstances. They cannot understand why Max has not done the same.
“The big problem is that he can no longer represent the FIA worldwide because of these incidents. The general feeling is that people would no longer be comfortable speaking to him in the same way. I have spoken to Max about this and advised him to stand down and not to go to the vote next Tuesday.”
While calling for his resignation, Ecclestone does not want Mosley to be remembered for the sex scandal but rather for his engagement in motorsport over the past decades.
“Max is being punished for the wrong reasons. He has done a first- class job as president. Like all of us, he has made some mistakes but 90 percent of the decisions he has taken have been to the benefit of all.
“He deserves to be remembered for all the positive work he has done, not for an expose in a tabloid newspaper,” Ecclestone said.