As Ferrari celebrates its 800th grand prix in Turkey this weekend, the former FIA president is quoted by British newspapers as saying Luca di Montezemolo last year urged him to abuse his power and fix the outcome of the double diffuser appeal case.
“He was on the phone every day saying, ‘you have got to sort the Court of Appeal out and make sure we win’,” Mosley, referring to Ferrari’s charismatic president, is quoted by the Daily Mail.
“He didn’t put it as baldly as that but that is what he said. I said, ‘Luca, I’m sorry, but first of all they wouldn’t take any notice and secondly I am not going to do it’,” he added.
A spokesman for the famous Maranello based team responded: “We don’t want to make any comment. It is better to look ahead and not waste time talking about what is – luckily – old and gone.”
With 70-year-old Mosley indeed departed and the sport generally enjoying Jean Todt’s new regime, one team boss in Turkey insisted that the good work of the former FIA president is not forgotten.
As Williams’ Adam Parr told reporters that the Grove based team recorded a small profit in 2009, he credited Mosley for the team’s mere survival.
Referring to rule changes including the testing ban and long-life components, he is quoted by The Times: “Whatever you say about Max, the only possibility of an independent formula one team existing is because of what he did.”
(GMM)
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