Full Throttle

Flash back with me to the 1995 F1 season, a year that followed a very controversial 1994 that saw many “scandals” and the lost of the great Aryton Senna.

The season opened at Brazil’s Interlagos and resulted in a first win of the season for Michael Schumacher/Benetton-Renault. Second place went to David Coulthard in the Williams-Renault team.

After the podium celebration, the entire paddock were shocked by a FIA decision: Schumacher and Coulthard were disqualified due to use of illegal fuel supplied by Elf.

Elf had, by rule, supplied a sample of that years fuel prior to the season start. It was the FIA’s ruling the fuel used that day failed to match the “chemical fingerprint” and both drivers were excluded.

Ferrari claimed innocence, and remained fairly quiet on the matter waiting for a final solution during a Paris meeting of the FIA Commission.

ELF, which had provided fuel to F1 for nearly 3 decades at that point, maintained they had strictly ahered to the rules and mounted an extensive publicity campaign in the French Press.

Mad Max growing tired of the brow-beating went to the press himself to counter ELF and the French print media:

“The time has come when Formula One needs a more adult approach from it’s participants,” he said. “”It reflects poorly on the sport and, again shows a lack of an adult attitude.”

“One expects a reasonable standard of behavior from a major international company. When there’s something, they should admit it and not keep a campaign going for nearly three weeks, notably in the French Press, pretending something that everybody knew was not true.”

“Everyone involved - the teams, the sponsors, the technical experts - must bear in mind that fundamentally this is a sport. It may involve a great deal of money, it may have a huge commercial interests at stake. But the moment that anyone involved at the top of F1 is more interested in the money than he is in the result, the whole thing will collapse.”

Obviously given the standard set by Mosley 13 years ago is far from what “The Littlest Perv” is living by now.

He has set himself far above the sport in not heeding calls by many of F1’s top names to step down and frankly, has acted as if he were a child whose only offense were hands caught in the bottom of a cookie jar.

Max it’s time to heed not only the present call to step down, but live up to the previous high standard you’ve set for others and ignore now.

Mosley international laughing stock?

Why yes, he is, think you for asking.

UPDATE: In related news; London, To fight prostitution, some say target clients.

UPDATE II: Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has kind words for the job Mosley has done, however a rather tepid endorsement for him continuing in the job.

When asked if he felt Mosley could still head the FIA after what happened, di Montezemolo said: “I think it’s objectively unlikely, but I believe it depends on him and his sensibility.”

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