Mosley turns focus back to F1 matters

(GMM) Max Mosley, the FIA president who has been embroiled in a sex scandal, has this week turned his focus back to matters regarding formula one.

He is under pressure not only from the teams, but also from CVC, the 75 per cent owner of the sport's commercial rights, who Mosley says wants to sell up.

To do so, CVC – whose F1 chief Donald McKenzie met with Bernie Ecclestone and bosses of the ten teams at Maranello on Tuesday – need Mosley to sign off on a new and modified Concorde Agreement.

"They tell me they are in no hurry (to sell)," Mosley, 68, told the Financial Times, on the same day as he also gave an interview about formula one to Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.

Mosley said: "If a sovereign wealth fund came along with a huge amount of money, then they'd (CVC) be tempted."

The stumbling block for CVC according to the current arrangement is Mosley's veto over who can buy the controlling share of the commercial rights.

"I would never give (the veto) up because you might find someone who was a complete disaster coming in, but we could soften it if the company has less say over what happens at a grand prix," he explained.

"Eventually I think we'll agree a compromise with CVC where they abandon a lot of the control they have over the sporting side of the event.

"In return we will give them much greater freedom to sell the business to whomever they want. At the moment it is not a problem with Bernie there," Mosley said.

He also told Auto Motor und Sport that he thinks – and hopes – an agreement over the new Concorde is now not far away.