Let me be perfectly clear about something…Max Mosley did a hell of a lot of good for F1. That’s just the surface things that we fans can see. I’d argue he did a lot of good behind the scenes–stuff we, as fans, cannot see. Running the regulatory body of F1 is no easy task and let us not marginalize the duty he undertook for one single minute. F1 can safely say that it is a better series because of Max Mosley.
Now…having said that, I think it prudent to present Mosley with a polite recommendation from fans of F1: for the love of everything beautiful in this sport and the integrity, so called, of your legacy, please shut your festering pie hole. While most people look to retire with dignity, Mosley feels compelled to continue his personal war of words with just about anyone who happens to cross his mind. Having an opinion on everyone is a tiring proposition but apparently Mosley doesn’t let that stop him as he took aim at Fiat Chairman and Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo.
Let’s give Mosley some leeway here as I have not read the article, sourced by AUTOSPORT, so context is king here. As with many things, perhaps the question was put to him in a way that warranted such character assassination toward di Monetezemolo. Irrespective of context, however, it seems odd to me that F1 Magazine would wheel Mosley out for an exclusive interview for any other reason than to create news and further the tarnished former president of the FIA.
Mosley seems to join me in my accolades of his past achievements and in many cases is his own biggest fan. Hearing Mosley tell it, he created, made and saved F1. Okay…we’ll have to take your word on it Max. Amongst those accolades and self-adulation, he found time to describe di Montezemolo as weak and easily led. You mean like when he stood up to Mosley in 2009 and, through his leadership of FOTA, threatened to leave F1? I guess he was being led by suspicious Fiat board members huh? Fair enough but remember that not agreeing with you does not necessarily imply that he is weak or being led does it?
Perhaps it’s just me but while I do recognize Mosley contributions and good work for the sport, I have grown so weary of his whinging. I really do. No matter what achievements he made on behalf of F1, his time has come. The golden pastures of retirement beckon and unfortunately he has decided to not retire with dignity. That’s probably because he can’t as he explained:
“It was and is intensely embarrassing,†he says. “I am not ashamed of what I did but that does not mean that I was anything other than deeply humiliated by it being exposed on the front pages of a national newspaper.
“Put yourself in the position of my two sons. First of all, it must be truly awful to see one’s father in photos like that. But then there is the embarrassment in front of their friends, knowing that they are also aware of what happened. On a scale of embarrassment, it is difficult to imagine anything worse. Think of my wife, too, having to come to terms with the same reality – to know that every time she walks into a café or restaurant, everyone knows.
“The horrifying universality of things first hit me when I was watching a big football game with Liverpool a couple of weeks after the story broke. It suddenly occurred to me that every player on the pitch – every single one of them – knew about my sex life. When you have property stolen, it is a terrible thing but there is at least some prospect of getting it back. I will never recover my dignity.â€
The fact is, context is everything. He admits that his dignity will never return and thus his retirement will forever be fraught with the nagging wound and saddening quest for dignity. I don’t envy any man in that situation but it does give some clairvoyance as to why he insists on remaining in the news, slandering F1 personnel and penning a tell-all book.
Mosley is a fiercely intelligent man and a real battler for what he feels strongly about. That is his credit but like many things in life, our greatest strength is also our greatest weakness. Mosley demonstrated this on many occasion in his role as FIA president. The mere fact that his intellect created a wall that prevented his own sense of guilt from assaulting him during the sex scandal. The scandal and details of his sex life were forcefully pushed aside in favor of a new, bigger issue created by Mosley which eventually found a long-time friend and judge’s sympathetic ear and ruling.
Mosley now retires in bitterness that manifests itself in occasional media outbursts such as today AUTOSPORT’s story regarding di Montezemolo. It isn’t enough to accept the loss of dignity but claim what remaining integrity you have and retire with a modicum of nobility. No, that wouldn’t be Mosley’s way because like his sexcapade, presidency of the FIA and just about everything else in his life (including watching his fathers activist notions); it’s over the top, grand in scale and all or nothing.
That type of bitterness, hate and ire will burn a person up inside and while I am one to offer Mosley my gratitude for his efforts in F1 and a forgiving eye on his extracurricular activities; I find myself reticent to offer anything due to his lack of personal responsibility in the episode that found him not “sorry for what I did”. If you are sorry about what your wife and sons faced after this became public; I am unclear, then, as to if this man has any sense of guilt or shame that would prevent him from engaging in such behavior out of concern for others and that kind of man is dangerous in any circle…including retirement.
We can see now, via his words against di Montezemolo, that he still lacks the sense of guilt or restraint needed to handle ones self with decorum and dignity. He has little care for the feelings of others and while man may march forth in a selfish mission to sate all his own desires, it takes a better man to lead through servitude and sate the desires of others around him instead of his own. Especially those he loves.
I can be neither judge nor jury of his heart but his actions speak for themselves and not money, achievements or fame will release you from the bonds of civility towards others or personal accountability with a sense of guilt to navigate the waters of human depravity . Mosley will be judged not by his achievements but by his failures. How a man reacts to a crisis is more important than the crisis itself and Mosley has failed on that front. I find that odd from such a schooled, intelligent and cultured man but what do I know? I am just a fat, dumb American. Cheers Max and may your pie hole find a mooring soon lest we all start chucking what dignity you have left.
