“I sincerely hope that it isn't a declaration of war,” the 77-year-old admitted in an interview with
The Times, “because, if that's what the message should be, then we'll have to defend ourselves.
“That is what anyone would do. I don't believe that's what Max wanted the letter to say. I don't want to have a war with Max. I hope he doesn't want one with me.”
Ecclestone also refuted Mosley's claims that the vote of confidence early next month is an attack on the FIA as a whole, stressing that the meeting has been called for one reason – and one reason alone.
“This whole business is really about what was printed in the
News of the World and whether this in any way damaged the FIA clubs or the FIA – that's all,” he underlined.
“It's nothing to do with anything else, and I don't quite know why he's come out and said these things. I am sorry if the press have reported things which he doesn't like, but we certainly don't have any influence over the
FIA.
“I think the General Assembly of the FIA was called for one reason only – to decide whether or not they think Max is the right person to be their president. The vote will be on that, not about the Concorde Agreement.”
Mosley had moreover hinted at ‘complex negotiations' about the future of the sport and suggested that
F1 is on the verge of a ‘major financial crisis' and the loss of more teams in the future, both claims to which Ecclestone gave similarly short shrift. The sport's ringmaster also revealed that a CVC board meeting had borne a tone of ‘irritation and anger' at what has been seen as the president's efforts to deflect attention from the real issue – his fitness to continue in his power-broking role.
“I don't see any problems up until a couple of months ago,” Ecclestone added, referring to the
News of the World's shocking revelations, before adding: “We (CVC) have decided we are going to contact all the clubs who Max wrote to, with a reply to the matters raised in his letter.”
