How long can Max last? Teams issue statements calling FIA to act

With BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Honda and Toyota all raising concern about the Max Mosley sex romp, the question now has to be how long before he goes? The German car manufacturers BMW and Mercedes-Benz have issued a joint statement labeling FIA president Max Mosley's behaviour as 'disgraceful.

Their statement read "The content of the publications is disgraceful. As a company, we strongly distance ourselves from it."

"This incident concerns Max Mosley both personally and as President of the FIA, the global umbrella organisation for motoring clubs. Its consequences therefore extend far beyond the motor sport industry. We await a response from the relevant FIA bodies."

This was followed by the following statement from Toyota, "Toyota Motorsport does not approve of any behaviour which could be seen to damage Formula One's image, in particular any behaviour which could be understood to be racist or anti-Semitic," said the statement.

"Senior figures within any sport or business, including motorsport, must adhere to high standards of behaviour. When all the facts are known, it will be for the FIA to decide whether Mr Mosley has met the moral obligations which come with the position of FIA President."

Fellow Japanese manufacturer Honda in its statement "It is necessary that senior figures in sport and business maintain the highest standards of conduct in order to fulfil their duties with integrity and respect," It then went onto say "The Honda Racing F1 Team [are] extremely disappointed by recent events surrounding Mr Mosley and we are concerned that the reputation of Formula One and all its participants is being damaged.

"We request that the FIA gives this matter careful consideration and reaches an immediate decision in the best interests of F1 and Motorsport."

Whilst it seemed Max hoped to ride out the storm, that option seems to get smaller and smaller. Apart from the teams raising the issue, we now also find out that as reported in The Times newspaper, the Crown Price of Bahrain had asked Mosley not to attend the event in order to keep the focus on the grand prix.

There is also the issue of the Nazi aspect to the whole thing and Mosley having to deal with Racism in F1 and in particular earlier this year with Lewis Hamilton in Spain. A situation that may very well arise again during the Spanish Grand later this season.

With Jean Todt now freed of his day to day duties at Ferrari, the time is right for Max to step down and handover to Todt.