As pressure mounts on Mosley to answer the allegations or resign – with FIA sources suggesting he is preparing to meet his lawyers today to discuss taking legal action against the
News of the World, believed to be on the grounds of breach of privacy, and that he has already forced the paper to remove the video from its website –
Formula 1 ringmaster
Bernie Ecclestone warned him
against travelling to this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix. Mosley was due to attend a function with the Bahraini Royal Family, who Ecclestone said “wouldn't like” the revelations.
“He shouldn't go [to Bahrain], should he?” the 77-year-old said in an interview with
The Times. “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.”
Ecclestone did, however, continue to stand by his long-time friend and business ally, who appears to be standing firm in the face of growing unease and distaste from the sport's teams and manufacturers. German companies
BMW and Mercedes-Benz in particular are said to be disgusted by the alleged Nazi role-playing, whilst senior figures at
Honda and
Toyota have been dismayed by the startling revelations.
“What Max should do is what he thinks is right,” Ecclestone insisted, “because it is only him that's involved, not the
FIA. He must do what he believes, in his heart of hearts, is the right thing.
“If Max was in bed with two hookers, [people would] say ‘good for you' or something like that, but this, as it is, people find it repulsive. I think that's the problem.
“The trouble with Max is he's been brave and there is bravado at the moment, but I don't think it's going to be easy. If he starts to sue, from what I understand, the chances of him winning would be slim and, the trouble is, it's just a lot more ink for the press.”
“It's a credibility and judgment issue,” countered an unnamed leading figure from one of
F1's Japanese outfits. “Fantasising about one of the greatest tragedies of the 20th century is obviously completely inappropriate.”
