Former FIA president Max Mosley dies, aged 81

FIA

Former FIA president Max Mosley dies, aged 81

Mosley served as FIA president for 16 years

Ian Parkes

Monday 24 May 2021 16:08 Updated: 21:13

Max Mosley, the former president of the FIA, has died. He was 81.

A family statement read: "The family of Max Mosley can confirm that he died last night after a long battle with cancer. They ask to be allowed to grieve in private”.

Mosley served in his role as FIA president from 1993 to 2009 and was pivotal in transforming the world governing body into a modern, forward-thinking organisation focused on road and circuit safety.

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Mosley was the youngest son of Sir Oswald Mosley, a former leader of the British Union of Fascists.

Mosley's career was tarnished when, in 2008, the News of the World published a front-page article suggesting he had organised a Nazi-themed sadomasochistic orgy.

The story alleged Mosley had dressed as a Nazi guard and cavorted with prostitutes pretending to be concentration camp victims.

Although Mosley won £60,000 in damages from a privacy case against the paper and resulted in him launching a campaign for stricter press controls, he later claimed the article "devastated" his life.

After studying physics at Oxford University, Mosley later trained as a lawyer and became a barrister specialising in patent and trademark law.

But he always had a fascination with cars, going on to race sports cars and compete in F2 driving for Brabham and Lotus.

At the age of just 29, Mosley retired from the competitive side and co-founded March Engineering, overseeing the legal and commercial matters for the company between 1969 and 1977.

In the mid-1970s, he became the official legal adviser to the Formula One Constructors’ Association (FOCA), the body that represented F1 constructors.

It was during this period he drew up the first Concorde Agreement, settling a long-standing dispute between FOCA and the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA), F1's then governing body.

In 1986, Mosley was elected president of the Manufacturers’ Commission of FISA before becoming president of the organisation in 1991.

In 1993, Mosley replaced Jean-Marie Balestre as president of the FIA, championing road safety and the use of green technology during his time in office.

Following the death of Ayrton Senna at the San Marino Grand Prix in 1994, Mosley was then pivotal in the widespread reform of safety in the sport.

Other safety matters saw Mosley lead the FIA’s successful campaign to modernise and strengthen EU crash test standards for the first time since 1974.

He also promoted the European New Car Assessment Programme [Euro NCAP], the independent crash-test organisation, while he also served as the first chairman of the F1 Safety Commission, which focused on the development of circuit safety.

After helping to set up the FIA Foundation and FIA Academy, he also established the FIA Institute for Motor Sport Safety in order to develop and improve safety measures and sustainability across all areas of motorsport.

Mosley was re-elected as FIA president on three occasions before standing down in 2009 for Jean Todt. He was named an honorary president soon after.