Sir
Jackie Stewart fears that
Max Mosley's insistence on remaining in his post in the wake of the damning sex scandal allegations surrounding him could seriously damage the sport, whilst stressing that if the FIA President is forced to resign – as many believe he should do – whoever is brought in to replace him must be a Formula 1 outsider.
Stewart and Mosley have publicly clashed swords on a number of occasions in the past, the latter infamously calling the three-time world champion ‘a certified halfwit' and ‘figure of fun' in response to the Scot's views on the
FIA's handling of the ‘Spygate' saga last summer.
The
News of the World published a front page exposé a week ago in which it claimed Mosley had participated in a 'sick Nazi orgy with 5 hookers' close to his London home. Though the 67-year-old does not deny his presence, he vigorously refutes any ‘Nazi connotations' to the role-playing and is currently embroiled in legal action for ‘unlimited damages' against the Sunday tabloid for breach of privacy.
He is also refusing to relinquish his position as FIA President, instead calling for an Extraordinary General Assembly of the Senate, which will be held in the FIA's home of Paris at the earliest available date, though possibly not until July. In common with many other leading figures within the sport, however, Stewart is adamant Mosley must go.
“He is not going to survive,” the 1969, 1971 and 1973 title-winner is quoted as having said by the
Daily Telegraph, “but the longer he stays the more damage he does and the more rebuilding is required. If I were the commercial rights holder I would be worried about that.
“This is the biggest scandal I have known in
Formula 1. There has never been anything like this, and there is no doubt it's doing huge damage to the sport. It's no longer about the damage it's doing to one person.”
