Full Throttle

Former world rally champion and ex-European lawmaker Ari Vatanen on Friday said he was seeking unity as he launched his campaign to become president of the International Motorsports Federation (FIA), Formula One’s governing body.

“My candidacy revolves around two points - reconciliation and unity,” Vatanen said in an interview with AFP.

“Yesterday, I sent a letter to all the presidents (of F1 federations) which ended with the sentence ‘together we can make a difference, with you the owners of the FIA.’

“I have not lost sight of the fact that the delegates are the owners of the FIA. But it is in their interest that we are working and talking to everyone,” Vatanan, the 1981 world rally champion.

He accepted that in order to take over from incumbent Max Mosley, he would have to surround himself with a 22-strong cabinet of backers and draw up a campaign program.

But he declared himself ready to mobilize that support across the five continents in order to bring about “a new start” for Formula One.

Earlier Thursday, Vatanen had told reporters: “Responding to requests from many FIA member clubs, I shall stand for presidential elections of the FIA in October this year” as “I think the time has come for a change.”

But Vatanen insisted his move was not born out of personal antagonism towards Mosley, whose departure seemed all but sealed last month following a peace deal with FOTA, whose big money teams had been in uproar at Mosley’s attempts to introduce budget cuts and technical amendments to bring new teams into the fold.

“I will never throw stones at Max. I have always had good relations with him,” the 57-year-old said, adding he wanted to push for consensus after the recent months of disagreements on Formula One’s future.

Mosley, in charge since 1993, has come under increasing pressure to step down at the end of his current term as president in the autumn but recent bickering between the FIA and the Formula One Teams’ Association (FOTA) amid the former’s determination to cut costs has clouded his future plans.