01/04/2008
NEWS STORY
According to Pitpass sources, Max Mosley has no intention of stepping down from his role as FIA President in the wake of allegations made by a tabloid newspaper at the weekend.
While the story has yet to make it into much of the mainstream media, despite intense promotion from The Times and even Sky News (another division of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp), with The Sun's (News Corp) John Gaunt including one of The Times numerous articles in his review of the day's newspapers this morning, it remains the subject of widespread speculation on forums and message boards.
With the Bahrain Grand Prix just days away there is continued speculation as to whether Mosley will attend the event, and indeed, whether he will still be FIA President by that time, with some sources claiming that the manufacturers are on the verge of issuing a joint statement.
F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has said that Mosley should not travel to Bahrain, telling The Times (who else?): "He shouldn't go, should he? The problem is he would take all the ink away from the race and put it on something which, honestly and truly, is nobody else's business anyway."
While the FIA claims that a decision on whether Mosley will travel to Bahrain has not yet been made, a spokesman telling Pitpass that the Englishman is; "currently unavailable due to consultation with lawyers" and that the FIA "cannot confirm his plans," a source claims that Mosley not only intends travelling to Bahrain, but is already talking of serving another term as President.
However, this comes on the back of reports that Alan Donnelly, currently in Australia negotiating the future of the Grand Prix in Melbourne, has been advised that "senior politicians" in the country are unwilling to meet with Mosley.