Formula One: Does Anybody Care about the Max Mosley Saga?

FIA president and Formula One supremo Max Mosley must have awoken on Sunday March 30th to some shock. British tabloid giants, The News of the World, had well and truly caught him with his pants down (for want of a better statement).

The paper published a detailed article concerning an alleged "Nazi style" orgy he participated in, accompanied by five prostitutes; and to make matters worse they supported their claims with video evidence. From this point the world of motorsport, and Formula One in general, has once again found itself in disrepute.

The consequences for Mosley are certain to result in the removal of his post as FIA president. The FIA is a global organisation governing numerous countries and cultures.

As president of such an organisation Mosley is a diplomatic role model, expected to act in a moral way so as not to offend any of the nations he governs. The current saga has certainly compromised his right to maintain such a post.

Formula One teams were quick to react to the news, BMW and Mercedes leading the way stating: "The content of the publications is disgraceful. As a company, we strongly distance ourselves from it."

Mosley on the other hand, was quickly on the defensive reminding the two companies of the roles they played in the second world war. Despite this, he did however, acknowledge that they were right to distance themselves from such allegations.

Toyota and Honda also registered their views in the war of the words with Honda asking for an "immediate decision in the best interests of Formula One and Motorsport."

While calls for Mosley's head resonate around the Formula One paddock he is however battling to redeem his name, he described the News of the World's actions as a "covert" operation to discredit him.

He also described it as an "unwarranted invasion" of his privacy," with any claims of Nazi connotations being "entirely false." Unfortunately for Mosley however, few people seem to displaying any sympathy towards him. 

But where does this leave Formula One?

Many teams have already registered their disgust on the matter however looking at the bigger picture Formula One's financial future could be compromised. Potential sponsors are likely to be deterred from investing in such a morally fragile situation.

The crown prince of Bahrain banned Mosley from attending the Bahrain Grand Prix in the wake of events and this could have a detrimental influence on further Asian sponsorship.

The consequences of the scandal could be huge for Formula One, although the matter may be of little public interest morally it poses a great threat in luring new sponsors and expanding the Formula One empire.

On June 3rd a summit of motorsport leaders is to be held in which a vote of confidence will be held by secret ballet, should Mosley stay in power then Formula One is likely to face an up hill struggle in cleansing its already tarnished reputation.