22/02/2005
NEWS STORY
At long last someone other than Paul Stoddart has openly spoken out, criticizing FIA president Max Mosley.
For weeks, the Minardi boss has been the lone spokesman for the nine 'rebel' teams, openly criticizing the FIA president, and thereby putting himself in a precarious position. For as Stoddart and Mosley fought their war of words, the other team bosses - though clearly in agreement with the Australian - remained silent, leaving many fearing that he might become a 'sacrificial lamb'.
Today however, speaking at a pre-season press lunch, Frank Williams and partner Patrick Head both hit out at Mosley, blaming him for many of the problems the sport is currently facing.
Speaking of the on-going dispute, Williams said; "There will be a denouement in all this, an event which may crystallise what happens to Max. His position is not in any way unsafe but he may decide, 'I've had enough.'"
Last year, Mosley announced that he was to stand down as president, having seemingly grown tired of the constant squabbling between the team owners and their failure to address certain issues, most notably that of cost cutting. A few weeks later he announced a change of heart.
However, in recent months the situation has been deteriorating, and now we are seeing team bosses, other than Stoddart, openly critical of the sport's president.
According to the BBC, Williams described the current situation as, "uncomfortable and almost dysfunctional".
"I've been surprised and quite impressed with the strength of cohesion and view between all the major manufacturers and some of the teams they're associated with," added Patrick Head.
He described Mosley's reign over the sport as: "Autocratic and non-consultative, albeit smothered with this veneer of smooth rationale and 'they're all children' sort of stuff."
Furthermore, he claimed that the new rules, and the late stage at which they were introduced, has cost the manufacturers; "hundreds of millions of euros".
"They are saying: 'This is bad technical governance'", he added. "It's costing us a fortune and meanwhile we're seeing all this from one man saying how good he is because he's saving us money. "That's what has got people saying it is beyond the pale. They're all joining in saying: 'Enough is enough'.
"They don't believe Max is any more - if he ever was - a safe pair of hands," added the Englishman.