Just When You Thought It Was Safe to Leave the Bomb Shelter
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By Forrest Bond - Racefax.com
Paris, June 25, 2009: An irate Max Mosley fired off a letter to Ferrari's Luca di Montezemolo this morning, in which he accused both Montezemolo and FOTA of having made making false statements in the aftermath of the supposed peace agreement, and of violating an agreement to present "a positive and truthful" account of what had been agreed among them yesterday. Barring an apology and correction, he is threatening to tear of their agreement and stand for re-election in October.
The letter needs no comment from us, so we merely present it in its entirety:
"Dear Luca
We made a deal yesterday in Paris to end the recent difficulties in Formula 1. A fundamental part of this was that we would both present a positive and truthful account to the media. I was therefore astonished to learn that FOTA has been briefing the press that Mr. Boeri has taken charge of Formula 1, something which you know is completely untrue; that I had been forced out of office, also false; and, apparently, that I would have no role in the FIA after October, something which is plain nonsense, if only because of the FIA statutes.
Furthermore, you have suggested to the media that I was a "dictator," an accusation which is grossly insulting to the 26 members of the World Motor Sport Council who have discussed and voted all the rules and procedures of Formula 1 since the 1980s, not to mention the representatives of the FIA's 122 countries who have democratically endorsed everything I and my World Motor Sport Council colleagues have done during the last 18 years.
If you wish the agreement we made to have any chance of survival, you and FOTA must immediately rectify your actions. You must correct the false statements which have been made and make no further such statements. You yourself must issue a suitable correction and apology at your press conference this afternoon.
Formula 1 is run entirely by our 25-strong team without any help from me or any other outsider. There was no need for me to involve myself further in Formula 1 once we had a settlement. Equally, I had a long- standing plan not to seek re-election in October. It was therefore possible for me to confirm both points to you yesterday.
However, given your and FOTA's deliberate attempt to mislead the media, I now consider my options open. At least until October, I am president of the FIA with the full authority of that office. After that it is the FIA member clubs, not you or FOTA, who will decide on the future leadership of the FIA.
Your sincerely
Max Mosley"