The Minardi PS03 was the car with which the Minardi team competed in the 2003 Formula One World Championship .
151-491: Minardi announced that for the 2003 season, veteran Dutch driver Jos Verstappen and rookie Justin Wilson would race for the team, replacing Alex Yoong who went to ChampCar and Mark Webber who joined Jaguar Racing. Wilson joined the team after a crowdfunding effort by his father, and former F1 driver Jonathan Palmer after Justin had missed out on a drive with Jordan Grand Prix in 2002 due to his height. Minardi agreed to make
302-494: A BBC Sport profile, many insiders considered that the announcement, and Mosley's public disagreements with Ecclestone, were "just part of a well crafted plan to strengthen their control over the sport"; Ron Dennis , the McLaren team principal, suggested that it arose because Mosley's proposals for Formula One met opposition. In 2004, Mosley said he felt Ferrari's then team principal Jean Todt should succeed him as president of
453-499: A Cosworth DFV -powered car, was second in the Drivers' Championship . March's financial woes continued: the company had lost £71,000 at the end of 1971. Mosley and Rees disagreed over how to rectify the situation and Rees left March early in 1972. March was more successful in selling large numbers of customer cars in the lower formulae. Mosley organised extensive test sessions for the 1971 cars for journalists and drivers, and arranged
604-604: A barrister in 1964. After a pupillage with Maurice Drake , he specialised in patent and trademark law. From 1961 to 1964, Mosley was a member of the Territorial Army , Parachute Regiment ( 44th Independent Parachute Brigade Group ). Mosley, like many Formula One drivers, lived in Monaco . On 9 June 1960, he was married at the Chelsea Register Office to Jean Taylor, the daughter of James Taylor,
755-497: A barrister , Mosley was no longer involved in politics. In the early 1980s, Mosley attempted a political career, working for the Conservative Party and hoping to become a parliamentary candidate. Bernie Ecclestone 's biographer, Terry Lovell, wrote that he gave up this aspiration after being unimpressed by "the calibre of senior party officials". He also believed his name would be a handicap and later said, "If I had
906-452: A Formula One team owner. It was a dangerous time to race: Mosley's first Formula Two race was the 1968 Deutschland Trophäe at Hockenheim in which double world champion Jim Clark was killed, and within two years both of Mosley's 1968 teammates, Piers Courage and Chris Lambert , were dead in racing accidents. Mosley's best result that year was an eighth place at a non-championship race at Monza . Engine builder Brian Hart says that as
1057-611: A bit like that in motor racing: nobody gives a damn. At national level in the UK, Mosley competed in over 40 races in 1966 and 1967; he won 12 and set several class lap records . In 1968, he formed the London Racing Team in partnership with driver Chris Lambert to compete in European Formula Two , which at that time was the level of racing just below Formula One. Their cars were prepared by Frank Williams , later
1208-700: A car that would fit his frame. It was reported at the time both Verstappen and Wilson paid £2million for their drives. Anthony Davidson , who stepped in to drive the PS02 had been linked with a drive, but declined at the cost. Verstappen returned to the F1 grid after sitting out the 2002 season. Matteo Bobbi was retained for a third season as test and development driver for the PS03. Previous engine supplier Asiatech had gone out of business, and discussions with Ferrari to provide engines were ongoing through late 2002. Ultimately,
1359-464: A combination of their wildness and their parents' reputation, and were initially tutored at home instead. The family moved to a succession of country houses in England. Mosley's older half-brother Nicholas described the family, including Sir Oswald's children from his first marriage, spending the summer of 1945 getting the harvest in and shooting at Crowood Farm, near Ramsbury , Wiltshire. In 1950,
1510-594: A commission of the FIA and the then governing body of Formula One. Mosley was elected president of FISA in 1991 and became president of the FIA, FISA's parent body, in 1993. Mosley identified his major achievement as FIA President as the promotion of the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP or Encap). He also promoted increased safety and the use of green technologies in motor racing. In 2008, stories about his sex life appeared in
1661-562: A complaint under European Union competition rules. The European Commission was already investigating the FIA's agreement with Ecclestone in what Lovell calls a "highly personal and bitter battle between Max Mosley and [EU commissioner Karel] van Miert ". Mosley was elected to his second term as president of the FIA in October 1997. Later that year, the EU Commission Directorate-General for Competition made
SECTION 10
#17328019588601812-495: A completely open choice in my life, I would have chosen party politics, but because of my name, that's impossible". By the late 1990s, he had become a donor to the Labour Party and a supporter of the government of Tony Blair . In 2018, Labour decided not to accept further donations from Mosley following accusations that he published a leaflet in the 1960s linking immigrants with disease. Mosley had already donated £500,000 to
1963-518: A couple of large parties as a way "to get in with lively, ordinary, normal young people, girls as well as boys, and attract them to the Movement by showing that we were like them and didn't go on about Hitler and Mussolini, Franco and British Fascism all the time". Mosley met his future wife Jean at such a party. Mosley and Alexander were photographed posing as Teddy Boys in Notting Hill during
2114-549: A different tyre to be provided by Michelin or to run at reduced speed. These were all rejected by the Michelin-shod teams. Paul Stoddart , the owner of the Minardi team who ran on Bridgestone tyres, was prepared to compromise to accommodate Michelin teams—even though a reduced field would guarantee his team much needed points—and was particularly vocal in his criticism and renewed his calls for Mosley to resign. Mosley
2265-523: A driver, Mosley "might not have been particularly quick, but he was a thinking driver. He kept out of trouble and generally used his head." Everything we'd set out to do, we'd done, and there were two of our cars sitting on the front [...] you could feel the annoyance, the hatred almost, of some of the Grand Prix establishment because we'd pulled it off. It was one of the most extraordinary moments of my life. Mosley, recalling March's first F1 race,
2416-481: A former driver, was among those who criticised the FIA and Mosley for inconsistency and questioned the "energetic manner" in which he felt McLaren was being pursued, suggesting that there was a "witch hunt" against the team. Brundle and the Sunday Times subsequently received a writ for libel before the paper printed a correction. Mosley went on to defend himself of the charges made by Brundle, highlighting that
2567-399: A four-time Formula One World Drivers' Champion, in 2021 , 2022 , 2023 and 2024 . Verstappen speaks Dutch, English and German. After a 1998 incident at a karting track in which a man suffered a fractured skull, Verstappen and his father, Frans, were found guilty in court of assault but were each given a five-year suspended jail sentence after reaching an out-of-court settlement with
2718-579: A further three-year extension for "global sports such as Formula One". On 5 October 2000, the directive was overturned in the European Court of Justice on the grounds that it was unlawful. A new Tobacco Advertising Directive took effect in July 2005; the Financial Times described Mosley as "furious" that this was a year earlier than provided for under the 1998 directive. As of 2009, Ferrari
2869-424: A good light. Amon stayed to the end of the year, but Mosley succeeded in "restructuring" his contract, saving the company some much-needed money. At the end of the season, Mosley successfully demanded full control of the finances, including the factory run by Coaker, who left shortly afterwards. Mosley and Herd borrowed £20,000 from relatives and friends to support the company into its second year. According to Lovell,
3020-629: A lack of funding leaving Verstappen and teammate Mika Salo struggling towards the rear of the field. Verstappen's best result for the team was eighth at the wet Monaco Grand Prix . Before the 1998 season Tyrrell were sold to British American Tobacco , who intended to rebrand the team as British American Racing in 1999 after one final season under the Tyrrell banner. Ken Tyrrell wanted to retain Verstappen alongside Toranosuke Takagi but BAR insisted on taking pay driver Ricardo Rosset alongside
3171-529: A large proportion of the enormous budget of Formula One has been spent on the development of very powerful, very high-revving engines, which some say have little applicability to road cars. Mosley announced a 10-year freeze on the development of engines, to allow manufacturers to spend more of their budgets on environmentally friendly technology such as the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) introduced in 2009. In July 2008, he sent
SECTION 20
#17328019588603322-582: A letter to the Formula One teams, in which he called for the teams to propose future sporting regulations to address specific issues including reduced fuel consumption. The 2007 Formula One season was dominated by Ferrari's accusations that the McLaren team had made illegal use of their intellectual property, leading to legal cases in the United Kingdom and Italy. Unlike previous cases, such as
3473-537: A pit stop. Lehto was fit for the next race at Imola , but his performances in subsequent races were disappointing and he was rested by Benetton following the Canadian Grand Prix , allowing Verstappen to return to the race seat. One of the most dramatic incidents affected Verstappen at the German Grand Prix . During his first scheduled pitstop during the race, fuel leaked onto the car after
3624-557: A policeman from Streatham . In 1970, their first son, Alexander, was born, and in 1972 their second son, Patrick. On 5 May 2009, Alexander, a restaurateur , was found at his Notting Hill home by his cleaner. He had died of drug abuse at the age of 39. An inquest was held on 10 June 2009, the Westminster coroner declaring that his death was due to non-dependent drug abuse . From their teens to early twenties, Mosley and his brother were involved with their father's post-war party,
3775-618: A preliminary decision against Ecclestone and the FIA. The resulting warning letters from van Miert to the FIA and Ecclestone were leaked and ended the attempt to float F1; the FIA won a case against the commission for the leak in 1998. At the same time, a local court in Germany ruled that the television rights to the FIA European Truck Racing Cup (passed to Ecclestone by the FIA the previous year, along with all other FIA authorised championships) should be returned to
3926-469: A replacement for underperforming drivers. He would eventually return to the series at the French Grand Prix , replacing Jan Magnussen at Stewart . However, the car was uncompetitive, the team struggled to run two cars to the same level and Verstappen did not perform significantly better than his predecessor. Johnny Herbert was signed to partner Rubens Barrichello for 1999 and Verstappen
4077-545: A settlement with FOCA. As Mosley later commented ... "We were absolutely skint . If Balestre could have held the manufacturer's support for a little bit longer, the constructors would have been on their knees. The outcome would then have been very different." Mosley helped draw up the Concorde Agreement , a document which resolved the dispute by essentially giving FISA control of the rules and FOCA control of commercial and television rights. The most recent version of
4228-669: A spin. In June 2003, owner Stoddart had purchased five Arrows A23 race cars following the teams administration. There was speculation that the cars were of higher quality than the PS03 and they may run in the Minardi colours for 2004. In August of that year, Jos Verstappen tested the A23 at Mugello Circuit to assess its suitability. In July, Wilson was signed by Jaguar Racing and replaced outgoing driver Antonio Pizzonia . Minardi quickly signed Nicolas Kiesa , who did not score any points but finished all five Grand Prix he competed in driving
4379-514: A strong 4th place at Monza . For 2001 he was retained by Arrows. The Supertec engines were replaced by Asiatech units and de la Rosa was dropped on the eve of the season for the Red Bull -backed Enrique Bernoldi . The package was more reliable and competitive on average beating Verstappen in qualifying on pace (often lining up behind his rookie teammate on the grid). Verstappen was hurt on occasion by indifferent qualifying form. Highlights of
4530-538: A successful karting career—culminating in two direct-drive Karting European Championships in 1989—Verstappen graduated to junior formulae . He won his first championship at the 1992 Formula Opel Lotus Benelux. Later that year, he also won the EFDA Nations Cup , representing the Netherlands. Progressing to German Formula Three in 1993 , Verstappen won the championship in his rookie season, also winning
4681-520: A successful scheme for drivers to rent cars and engines for the season, rather than buying them outright. Losing money on a deal to supply Jochen Neerpasch , then motorsport manager at Ford , with a Formula Two car paid off when Neerpasch moved to BMW and offered March an exclusive deal to use BMW's Formula Two engine for the 1973 season. March cars powered by BMW engines won five of the next 11 European Formula Two championships. Although March considered quitting Formula One on several occasions, money
Minardi PS03 - Misplaced Pages Continue
4832-516: A test driver for the Honda project in 1999 . He returned to a race seat with Arrows in 2000 , competing with them for a further two seasons. After a year hiatus, Verstappen completed his final Formula One season with Minardi in 2003 . Outside Formula One, Verstappen took a class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2008 with Van Merksteijn , winning the 2008 Le Mans Series in the LMP2 class. He
4983-650: A virtual unknown driving for the minor Simtek team. Mosley did not go to Senna's funeral but attended that of Ratzenberger. In a press conference ten years later Mosley stated, "I went to his funeral because everyone went to Senna's. I thought it was important that somebody went to his". In the aftermath of the deaths, and a number of other serious accidents, Mosley announced the formation of the Advisory Expert Group chaired by Professor Sid Watkins , to research and improve safety in motor racing. Watkins, who learned of his new role by hearing Mosley announce it on
5134-522: Is NASCAR Whelen Euro Series racing driver Anthony Kumpen , and whose uncle is former motocross and GT endurance rally driver Paul Kumpen. Verstappen and Sophie have two children, Max (b. 1997) and Victoria (b. 1999). He has a second daughter, Blue Jaye (b. 2014), with his second wife Kelly van der Waal. He also has a second son, Jason Jaxx (b. 2019) and third daughter Mila Faye (b. 2020), with his third wife Sandy Sijtsma. Both Max and Victoria have gone on to become racing drivers, with Max becoming
5285-562: Is a European car safety performance assessment programme that originated with work done by the Transport Research Laboratory for the UK Department for Transport . The FIA became involved in the programme in 1996, taking a lead in promoting it, and Mosley chaired the body from its launch as Euro NCAP in 1997 to 2004. Despite what NCAP describes as a "strong negative response" from car manufacturers at first,
5436-522: Is a dangerous activity and it would be most unwise to make fundamental changes to a circuit without following tried and tested procedures. What happened was bad but can be put right. This is not true of a fatality." He continued, "Formula One is a sport which entertains. It is not entertainment disguised as sport." Mosley gave three possible solutions for the Michelin runners: to use qualifying tyres but change them whenever necessary on safety grounds, to use
5587-441: Is an acronym based on the initials of the founders; the 'M' stands for Mosley. Like the other founders, Mosley put in £2,500 of capital. His father told him that the company "would certainly go bankrupt, but it would be good training for something serious later on." Mosley played a key role in publicising the new outfit. Although March had few resources and limited experience, the firm announced ambitious plans to enter Formula One,
5738-584: Is quoted as saying. “Jos is very bad tempered.” Manager Raymond Vermeulen said the incident was a “private matter”. Later, Limburg broadcaster L1 reported that Frans had withdrawn the complaint, with him stating, “It’s just a private matter between myself and Jos. I want to keep it between ourselves.” Verstappen was the test driver for the aborted Honda F1 project. ( key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) ( key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Did not finish, but
5889-734: Is released." but released two weeks later after the charge was withdrawn. Verstappen was also accused of destroying two cell phones, jewellery and the handbag of his girlfriend, and he faced two weeks of imprisonment and 20 hours of community work service. Verstappen’s lawyer Geert Jan Knoops said his client was relieved and he hopes this will be the definitive end of the court case. According to Dutch sources, Verstappen and his girlfriend are back together again. He and his ex-girlfriend, Kelly van der Waal, got back together and were married in 2014. They have one daughter, Blue Jaye, born in September 2014. They divorced on 2 June 2017. On 28 July, 2016, it
6040-510: Is that I got a better deal than anyone else could have because it was more difficult for Ecclestone to take a hard line with me as we had worked together for so long." The following year, the FIA also passed the rights to all its other directly sanctioned championships and events to Ecclestone, also for 15 years. An attempt to add a 10-year extension to the F1 contract in return for a share in Ecclestone's proposed flotation of Formula One
6191-551: Is the only F1 team to retain tobacco sponsorship, although the team carries no explicit branding in races because of the European legislation. Although the FIA moved its headquarters out of the EU in 1999, it returned in 2001. Asked in a 2003 interview about his most enduring achievement as president of the FIA, Mosley replied: "I think using Formula One to push ENCAP Crash-Testing." The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP)
Minardi PS03 - Misplaced Pages Continue
6342-553: The News of the World released video footage of Mosley engaged in acts with five consenting women in a scenario that the paper alleged involved Nazi role-playing (an allegation that, though dismissed in court as "no genuine basis", allegedly "ruined" Mosley's reputation). The situation was made more controversial by his father's association with the Nazis . Mosley admitted "the embarrassment
6493-610: The 1000km Monza , Jos Verstappen won the LMP2 class of the 2008 24 Hours of Le Mans . With his victory at the 1000km Nurburgring , Verstappen clinched the LMP2 Drivers' title and Van Merksteijn Motorsport won the LMP2 Manufacturers' title. Verstappen participated in the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Lola - Aston Martin . In 1996, Verstappen married Belgian ex-kart driver champion Sophie Kumpen, whose cousin
6644-627: The 1958 race riots between Afro-Caribbeans and local white gangs. The following year, they canvassed for their father when he ran as a Union Movement candidate for the nearby Kensington North seat in the 1959 general election . Mosley rarely discussed his early political involvement with his father. When his father Oswald died, the London Daily Mail described him as a "much maligned and much misunderstood political giant of his era". Certainly, his father's political presence affected his early years, but Mosley reflected on this time, "I
6795-464: The 1970 South African Grand Prix In 1969, after two large accidents due to breakages on his Lotus car, Mosley decided that "it was evident that I wasn't going to be World Champion" and retired from driving. He was already working with Robin Herd , Alan Rees , and Graham Coaker to establish the racing car manufacturer March Engineering where he handled legal and commercial matters. The name March
6946-561: The 1989 Japanese Grand Prix . Mosley campaigned on the basis that Balestre, who was also president of the FIA and of the Fédération Française du Sport Automobile, could not effectively manage all these roles together. He also said that no-one challenged Balestre because they were afraid of the consequences and suggested that the FISA President should not interfere with F1, which could be left to run itself. Mosley won
7097-634: The 1993 Masters of Formula 3 . Signing for Benetton as a test driver in 1994 , Verstappen made his Formula One debut at the Brazilian Grand Prix , replacing the injured JJ Lehto to partner Michael Schumacher for the opening two rounds of the season. Verstappen formally replaced Lehto after the Canadian Grand Prix , scoring two podiums in his rookie season before being replaced by Johnny Herbert in Japan . His podium in Hungary made him
7248-477: The 2008 24 Hours of Le Mans race, as well as enter the 1,000 kilometre races in the Le Mans Series . Driving a LMP2 -class Porsche RS Spyder fielded by Van Merksteijn Motorsport , Verstappen was partnered by team owner Peter van Merksteijn Sr. Jeroen Bleekemolen also joined the team for the 24 Hours of Le Mans race. After winning the 1000km Catalunya and 1000km Spa , and finishing second in
7399-542: The A1 Grand Prix series . They won the feature race at Durban. On 27 September 2006, Verstappen split with A1 Team Netherlands after failing to secure payment guarantees. This resulted from Verstappen only being paid for the 2005/06 season a few weeks before the next season started. He was replaced by Jeroen Bleekemolen for the first race of the 2006/07 season at the team's home race at Zandvoort . In December 2007, Verstappen announced that he would take part in
7550-654: The Conservative and Labour parties in the 1920s before leaving mainstream politics and becoming leader of the British Union of Fascists (BUF) in the 1930s. The month after Max's birth, Sir Oswald, who had campaigned for a negotiated peace between the United Kingdom and Nazi Germany , was interned by the British authorities under Defence Regulation 18B , along with other active fascists in Britain. Max's mother
7701-519: The Conservative Party in the early 1980s, and was a donor to the Labour Party from the New Labour era until 2018. Mosley was the subject of Michael Shevloff's 2020 biographical documentary Mosley . He died at the age of 81 on 23 May 2021. An inquest confirmed his death as suicide following a diagnosis of terminal cancer. Max Mosley was born on 13 April 1940 in London, in the early years of
SECTION 50
#17328019588607852-570: The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the governing body for Formula One . A barrister and amateur racing driver, Mosley was a founder and co-owner of March Engineering , a racing car constructor and Formula One racing team. He dealt with legal and commercial matters for the company between 1969 and 1977 and became its representative at the Formula One Constructors' Association (FOCA),
8003-724: The German Formula 3 championship . Verstappen first drove a Formula One car when he tested for the Footwork Arrows team alongside Gil de Ferran and Christian Fittipaldi at the Estoril circuit in Portugal. The test took place on 28 September 1993, two days after the Portuguese Grand Prix was held at the same circuit. Despite the large increase in power (from a 175 bhp Formula Three car to
8154-620: The Monaco Grand Prix . Out of a race drive, Verstappen did some test driving with Benetton and Ligier (then part-owned by Briatore and Tom Walkinshaw ). Briatore decided against taking up his option for Verstappen in 1996, signing Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger to drive instead. In 1996 he drove for the Footwork team. He ran fifth at Interlagos before retiring, and finished sixth in Buenos Aires . Shortly after,
8305-544: The Second World War . His father was Sir Oswald Mosley and his mother was Diana, Lady Mosley , one of the Mitford sisters . In addition to his older full-brother Alexander, Mosley had five older half-siblings. On his father's side, they included the novelist Nicholas Mosley, 3rd Baron Ravensdale (1923–2017). On his mother's side they were the merchant banker Jonathan Guinness, 3rd Baron Moyne (born 1930), and
8456-518: The Toyota team's illegal use of Ferrari intellectual property in 2004 that had been handled by German police, the FIA investigated. They initially found McLaren innocent; unable to find enough evidence to suggest that anyone other than designer Mike Coughlan had seen the information or that the team had used it. Ron Dennis , team principal of McLaren, was unaware at this point that Mosley had been sent personal e-mails from Fernando Alonso , stating that
8607-512: The far-right Union Movement (UM), which advocated European nationalism . Trevor Grundy, a central figure in the UM's Youth Movement, writes of the 16-year-old Mosley painting the flash and circle symbol on walls in London on the night of the Soviet Union 's invasion of Hungary (4 November 1956). The flash and circle was used by both the UM and the pre-war BUF. He also says Mosley organised
8758-490: The pit wall causing debris to fly up and destroy a TV installation. Due to this accident, this equipment is now protected from the race track by acrylic glass . For the last two races of the season, Verstappen was replaced by the more experienced Johnny Herbert in a bid to win the Constructors' Championship for Benetton. Although the team was unsuccessful in this aim, losing out to the rival Williams team, Herbert
8909-426: The 750 bhp of Formula One), Verstappen set a time that would have qualified him in the preceding race on his fourth timed lap, and improved his time by more than a second after 65 laps. His best lap time of the day was 1:14.45, which was only 0.07 seconds slower than regular driver Derek Warwick had lapped during qualifying, and would have placed him tenth on the grid. He tested again on September 30 and
9060-612: The BPICA with a seat on the FISA World Council. That same year, he established Simtek Research , a racing technical consultancy firm, with Nick Wirth , a former March employee. He sold his share of Simtek in 1991, when elected president of the FISA. According to Lovell, in 1987 Mosley suggested to Balestre that he could deal with his problems with Ecclestone by "mak[ing] him a member of the establishment". Later that year Ecclestone
9211-508: The British Royal Automobile Club , which arose was withdrawn when it became clear that the majority of voters were already committed to Mosley. The FISA was then merged into the FIA as its sporting arm. After the deaths of the drivers Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix , worldwide media attention focused on the charismatic triple world champion Senna, rather than Ratzenberger,
SECTION 60
#17328019588609362-419: The British press, along with allegations regarding Nazi connotations. Mosley successfully sued the newspaper that published the allegations and maintained his position as FIA president. He stood down at the end of his term in 2009 and was replaced by his preferred successor, Jean Todt . Mosley was the youngest son of Sir Oswald Mosley , former leader of the British Union of Fascists , and Diana Mitford . He
9513-621: The Concorde Agreement expired on 31 December 2007, and a new one was being discussed, as of 2008. In 1982, the year after the first Concorde Agreement was signed, Mosley left his role at FOCA, and Formula One, to work for the Conservative Party. Mosley returned to motorsport in 1986, with the support of Ecclestone and Balestre, to become president of the FISA Manufacturers' Commission, the successor body to
9664-581: The European Commission's policy group aimed at improving the worldwide competitiveness of the European automotive industry. In February 2001, Mosley announced his intention to stand again for the presidency in October of that year, saying that if successful this third term would be his last. Mosley was elected to his third term as president of the FIA in 2001. From 2000, Formula One saw the return of teams partly or wholly owned and operated by major motor manufacturers, who feared that under Ecclestone's management F1 coverage would go to pay television , reducing
9815-416: The European championship in his first year, and got an offer to drive in Formula Three with Van Amersfoort Racing, who also developed other drivers such as Christijan Albers , Tom Coronel and Bas Leinders . During that European winter season, he raced in New Zealand Formula Atlantic. Subsequently, in German Formula Three, he won several international competitions, including the 1993 Marlboro Masters and
9966-492: The FIA in Mosley's favour, in return for the new role of President of the FIA Senate, to be created after Mosley's election. As well as motorsport, the FIA's remit includes the interests of motorists worldwide, an area in which Mosley wanted to involve himself. He had said, "That is what really interested me: [in F1] you maybe save one life every five years, whereas [in] road safety you are talking about thousands of lives". A challenge to Mosley's election by Jeffrey Rose, chairman of
10117-414: The FIA of possessing some of McLaren's intellectual property, but was not punished, as the "FIA's WMSC decided there was not enough evidence to show the championship had been affected." In relation to McLaren, triple world champion Jackie Stewart criticised Mosley and stated that other teams did not back McLaren for "fear of repercussions". Television commentator and newspaper columnist Martin Brundle ,
10268-464: The FIA that passed all of the commercial rights to Formula One to him for fifteen years, on the condition that they would return to the FIA at the end of that period. Ecclestone had been building up Formula One as a television package since the early 1990s, investing heavily in new digital television technology. For the duration of the deal, the FIA would receive an index-linked annual fixed royalty, estimated by Lovell at around 15%. Mosley said "My belief
10419-403: The FIA when he stepped down. The 2005 United States Grand Prix was run with only six cars, after the Michelin tyres used by the other 14 cars proved unsafe for the circuit. A proposal involving the addition of a temporary chicane to slow cars through the fastest corner of the circuit was suggested but rejected by Mosley. He stated his reasons for not agreeing to the chicane: "Formula One
10570-401: The FIA's vice-president of promotional affairs and the FIA ending all involvement in the commercial activities of Formula One. Mosley came up with an innovative way to dispose of the FIA's involvement in the commercial activities of Formula One. In order to maintain Ecclestone's investment to deliver digital television, he proposed extending Ecclestone's rights for F1 coverage to 100 years from
10721-425: The FISA presidency by 43 votes to 29; Balestre remained as FIA president. Mosley resigned a year later, fulfilling a promise made during his election campaign to seek a re-affirmation of his mandate. "I wanted to show people that I do what I say", he said. "Now they can judge me in a year's time." FISA immediately re-elected him. In 1993, Mosley agreed with Balestre that the Frenchman would stand down as president of
10872-633: The GPMA later became the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA). In June 2004, Mosley announced that he would step down from his position in October of that year, one year early, saying "I no longer find it either satisfying or interesting to sit in long meetings [...] I have achieved in this job everything I set out to [...]". One month later, he rescinded his decision after the FIA Senate called for him to stay on. According to
11023-481: The Irish preservationist Desmond Guinness (1931–2020). He was a nephew of Deborah Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire , and first cousin of Peregrine Cavendish, 12th Duke of Devonshire . He was also third cousin of Winston Churchill MP, the grandson of the British prime minister, and fifth cousin of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother . Mosley's father had been a Labour minister , and Member of Parliament for both
11174-807: The Mosleys bought houses in Ireland , and in Orsay , near Paris. They spent the year moving around Europe, spending the spring in France and the autumn and winter in Ireland, where Mosley was keen on riding and hunting. His aunt Nancy Mitford , in letters to Evelyn Waugh , recalled Sir Oswald and his family cruising the Mediterranean Sea on the family yacht. On one such trip they visited Spain and were entertained by Sir Oswald's friend General Franco . At
11325-477: The PS03. Minardi would ultimately finish in last place in the Constructors' Championship with no points. Minardi started the year with a primarily black car, featuring heavy sponsorship from owner Paul Stoddart's European Aviation brand. Alongside this were new deals with Gazprom and Superfund . Gazprom defaulted on their payments and were removed from the car before the 2003 Austrian Grand Prix . At this time, Dutch business Trust upped their sponsorship and
11476-581: The Statement to the media and held a press conference in Brussels ridiculing the commission's case. The Commission argued that a number of commercial agreements could be viewed as anti-competitive and invited the FIA and Ecclestone's companies, ISC and FOA, to submit proposals to modify these arrangements. In 2001, nine months after settlement talks had begun, the parties reached an agreement to amend existing contracts, which included Ecclestone stepping down as
11627-626: The WMSC originally acquitted McLaren of any wrongdoing, stating: "Concrete evidence of use by McLaren of the Ferrari information was simply not there." It was only later in the year when "e-mails emerged which showed others inside McLaren were indeed aware of the Ferrari information", that the FIA found the team guilty. At the start of 2008, Mosley said that he wanted to see through reforms such as budget capping and new technologies like KERS introduced into Formula One before retiring. In March of that year,
11778-466: The age of 13, Mosley was sent to Stein an der Traun in Germany for two years, where he learned to speak fluent German. On his return to England, he spent a year at Millfield , an independent boarding school in Somerset , after which he continued his education in London for two years. He attended Christ Church at Oxford University, graduating with a degree in physics in 1961. During his time there, he
11929-498: The age of 8, and was participating in national competitions not long after. In 1984 he became Dutch junior champion. Verstappen remained successful, becoming a two-class Karting European Champion in 1989, a feat that remained unmatched until his son Max in 2013. At the end of 1991 he made the transition to car racing. He drove in Formula Opel Lotus, a class in which identical cars compete against each other. He won
12080-455: The best long-term interests of the company. Mosley negotiated a deal for the team to use Alfa Romeo engines in a third car, bringing much needed funding. The engines proved uncompetitive, and his hopes of an ongoing partnership with the Italian automobile manufacturer were not met. Nonetheless, March again finished third in the constructors championship, and works driver Ronnie Peterson , in
12231-433: The body that represents Formula One constructors. Together with Bernie Ecclestone , Mosley represented FOCA at the FIA and in its dealings with race organisers. In 1978, he became the official legal adviser to FOCA. In this role, Mosley and Marco Piccinini negotiated the first version of the Concorde Agreement , which settled a long-standing dispute between FOCA and the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA),
12382-519: The car gained a black & white split livery. The Malaysian flag was displayed on the side of the cars Malaysian Grand Prix with the message "Malaysia for Peace". At the beginning of the season, there were on-going discussions between team bosses and the FIA about the distribution of revenue. Ron Dennis and Frank Williams were particularly against supporting Minardi, and this was heavily criticised by then FIA president Max Mosley . Part way through
12533-548: The cars were often lighter than their rivals. In his second race back at Interlagos he ran 6th before spinning due to a sore neck brought on by his lack of recent seat time. In the wet/dry Canadian Grand Prix , he drove superbly in the later stages to move into 5th position and score his first points since 1996. After the first corner accidents in Austria de la Rosa and Verstappen ran 4th and 5th but mechanical problems sidelined them both. Verstappen would score only once again,
12684-549: The data had been used and seen by others in the team. When Italian police uncovered a series of text messages between McLaren and their spy at Ferrari, the team was hauled in front of the World Motor Sports Council (WMSC) once more. This time they were found guilty and eventually fined a gross $ 100M and excluded from the 2007 constructors' championship. Later in the year, the Renault team was found guilty by
12835-497: The end of 1977 , Mosley officially became legal advisor to FOCA, which was led by Ecclestone. In his biography of Ecclestone, Terry Lovell suggests that he appointed Mosley to this role not only because of his legal ability, but also because he "saw in Mosley the necessary diplomatic and political skills that made him perfectly suited to the establishment of the FIA". The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), founded in 1904
12986-469: The figure to extend the rights to 100 years to the £600 million KirchGruppe paid for the rights to the 2002 Football World Cup and the £1.1 billion British Sky Broadcasting paid for a three-year package of English Premier League football. The figure was not entirely comparable however due to the dispute over who actually owned Formula One. Before the settlement with the EU Commission
13137-399: The first Dutch driver to score a podium finish in Formula One. Verstappen competed for Simtek in 1995 before the team went bankrupt five rounds into the season, returning to his test driver role with Benetton. He became a full-time driver for Footwork in 1996 . After non-classified championship finishes in 1997 and 1998 with Tyrrell and Stewart , respectively, Verstappen became
13288-415: The first four races. He suffered from exhaustion and temporary paralysis in the neck during the 2003 Malaysian Grand Prix due to his HANS device coming loose and restricting arm movement inside the PS03 cockpit. Verstappen had a chance of scoring points at the rain soaked 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix , where a host of drivers including world champion Michael Schumacher retired, but retired on lap 31 due to
13439-574: The first two races of the season as a substitute, partnering Michael Schumacher and made his Formula One debut at the 1994 Brazilian Grand Prix . During the race he collided with Eddie Irvine , which triggered a multiple accident also involving Éric Bernard and Martin Brundle . Verstappen's car somersaulted, but he emerged unharmed. At the Pacific Grand Prix Verstappen ran 6th but spun off on cold tyres immediately after
13590-433: The fuel hose was disconnected. The car, with Verstappen in it, was engulfed in flames for several seconds. As was usual at the time, Verstappen had slightly opened the visor of his helmet for the pit stop, but apart from slight burns to his nose, he was uninjured. After this incident the fuel delivery hose was modified to incorporate a fail-safe cut-out system. A high point in this season was Verstappen's third place during
13741-421: The initial 15, arguing that a deal of such length could not be anti-competition as it was effectively the same as an outright sale. The Commission agreed with his assessment and in the interest of impartiality, Mosley removed himself from the negotiations, which eventually returned around $ 300 million (£150 million). The FIA planned to "put almost all of it into a charitable foundation which will then have
13892-425: The initiative has expanded, and NCAP says that there has been a clear increase in the safety of modern cars as a result. The EU commission in 2000 stated that "EuroNCAP had become the single most important mechanism for achieving advances in vehicle safety" and "the most cost effective road safety action available to the EU." Mosley continued to promote the matter through his membership of initiatives such as CARS 21,
14043-749: The loss of 50,000 jobs, 150,000 part-time jobs and £900 million of exports. On 4 November, the "fiercely anti-tobacco Jowell" argued in Brussels for an exemption for Formula One. Media attention initially focused on Labour bending its principles for a "glamour sport" and on the "false trail" of Jowell's husband's links to the Benetton Formula team. On 6 November, correspondents from three newspapers enquired whether Labour had received any donations from Ecclestone; he had donated £1 million in January 1997. On 11 November, Labour promised to return
14194-474: The modern system) which makes him the second best performing Dutch driver in Formula One to date, beaten only by his son, Max . Jos Verstappen's highest qualifying position was 6th, at the 1994 Belgian Grand Prix . After two years of not participating in races, Verstappen was confirmed in July as driver of the A1 Team Netherlands managed by seatholder Jan Lammers 's Racing for Holland , for
14345-475: The money came from Mosley's half-brother, Jonathan Guinness . Tyrrell started making its own cars towards the end of 1970, and March's 1971 programme in Formula One was much reduced, with no recognised front-running driver. The Firestone and STP sponsorship was insufficient and Mosley failed to attract a large backer for 1971. Motorsport author Mike Lawrence has suggested that the shortfall forced him into short-term deals, which maintained cashflow, but were not in
14496-491: The money on the advice of Sir Patrick Neill . On 17 November, Blair apologised for his government's mishandling of the affair and stated "the decision to exempt Formula One from tobacco sponsorship was taken two weeks later. It was in response to fears that Britain might lose the industry overseas to Asian countries who were bidding for it." The revised directive went into force in June 1998, and banned sponsorship from 2003, with
14647-535: The next Grand Prix in Hungary , Schumacher having allowed Verstappen to unlap himself on the final lap to pass Martin Brundle 's stricken McLaren -Peugeot. He took another third place at the Belgian Grand Prix due to Schumacher's post-race disqualification from victory, and a fifth place at the Portuguese Grand Prix . A curiosity was his accident during a practice session for the French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours , in which Verstappen rammed his car into
14798-525: The office of deputy leader Tom Watson . While Mosley was at university, his wife was given tickets to a motor race at the Silverstone Circuit . The circuit is not far from Oxford , and the couple went out of curiosity. Mosley was attracted by the sport, and once qualified as a barrister, began teaching law in the evenings to earn enough money to start racing cars himself. The sport's indifference to his background appealed to Mosley: There
14949-401: The organisation got into financial difficulty almost immediately. The Formula One operation was costing more than the customer car business was making. The March works team's contract with its lead driver, Chris Amon , was expensive, and Mosley, in his own words, "tried at every opportunity to get rid of him". He reasoned that Stewart's highly competitive customer car was enough to show March in
15100-476: The pinnacle of single-seater racing, in 1970. The team had initially intended to enter a single car, but by the beginning of the season (partly due to deals made by Mosley), the number of March cars entered for their first Formula One race had risen to five. Two of these were run by March's own in-house works team and the rest by customer teams. Mosley also negotiated sponsorship from tyre maker Firestone and oil additive manufacturer STP . The new operation
15251-459: The radio, has called it a "novel and revolutionary approach". The resulting changes included reducing the capacity and power of engines, the use of grooved tyres to reduce cornering speeds, the introduction of the HANS device to protect drivers necks in accidents, circuit re-design, and greatly increased requirements for crash testing of chassis. In 1995, a deal was signed between Ecclestone and
15402-406: The rear-guard for another year. Out of a drive for 2004 Verstappen was considered as a replacement for Giorgio Pantano at Jordan partway through the season but was unable to fit in the car and began looking for drives outside Formula One for the following season. Verstappen participated in 107 Grands Prix. He achieved two podium places, and scored a total of 17 championship points (117 in
15553-502: The resources to undertake important work on improving safety in motor sport and in road safety", and thus the FIA Foundation was created in 2001. In addition, the FIA continued to receive an annual dividend from the deal, Mosley stated: "Over the totality of the contract, and on an annual basis, the sum we have accepted represents billions of dollars. Looked at from that point of view, it is a huge amount of money." Lovell compares
15704-474: The revelations caused", but said that there was no Nazi theme involved. He was strongly criticised by former drivers, motor manufacturers, and several of the national motoring bodies who form the FIA. His involvement in the Bahrain Grand Prix was cancelled. Public expressions of support were limited. Mosley said that he received much supportive correspondence, and said that he would continue to
15855-478: The same year. From 1969, Mosley was invited to represent March at the Grand Prix Constructors' Association (GPCA), which negotiated joint deals on behalf of its member teams. Although the new March organisation was not popular with the established teams, Mosley has said that "when they went along to meetings to discuss things such as prize money, they felt they ought to take me along because I
16006-504: The season included running 2nd at Sepang having started 18th, making a superb start and running well in changing conditions before dropping to 7th and later scoring the team's only point of the year for 6th at the A1-Ring . At Interlagos , he ran into the back of leader Juan Pablo Montoya just after being lapped while at Montreal , he moved into the top six but retired with brake failure. He re-signed to drive for Arrows in 2002, but
16157-682: The season, Bernie Ecclestone bought a minority shareholding in the team. By October, Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport claimed Minardi had been sold for 2004, this was later refuted by owner Stoddart. ( key ) Jos Verstappen Johannes Franciscus " Jos " Verstappen ( Dutch pronunciation: [ˈjɔs fɛrˈstɑpə(n)] ; born 4 March 1972) is a Dutch former racing driver , who competed in Formula One between 1994 and 2003 . Born and raised in Dutch Limburg , Verstappen began competitive kart racing aged eight. After
16308-484: The series organiser, following a complaint from German television company AE TV-Cooperations. The TV Company argued that Ecclestone and Mosley were in breach of commercial clauses in the Treaty of Rome ; following the court's decision Mosley appealed the judgement and cancelled the series until further notice. On appeal, the court ruled that the series organiser should be able to sell the television rights to whoever they felt
16459-532: The solution in order for the FIA to retain its sporting management role and Ecclestone to retain his commercial role. Over the same period, Mosley was attempting to delay European legislation banning tobacco advertising . Formula One advertisements were controlled by Paddy McNally , an ex- Marlboro sponsorship consultant, and his company Allsport Management SA . At this time, all leading Formula One teams carried significant branding from tobacco brands; for instance, Williams ran with backing from Rothmans ; West
16610-511: The surprise availability of Damon Hill (soon to be crowned World Champion) saw him dropped instead. His form in the second half of the season dropped off as development on the 1996 car ground to a standstill, TWR Arrows focusing instead on 1997. In 1997 he went to the Tyrrell team but did not score any points, though he briefly ran fifth in the Canadian Grand Prix . The team suffered from an underpowered Ford Cosworth EDV V8 engine and
16761-537: The team was taken over by Walkinshaw's TWR organisation. During the Belgian Grand Prix a part of the suspension of Verstappen's car broke off, causing him to crash heavily. He ended up with a prolonged neck injury. Initially Verstappen featured strongly in Walkinshaw's plans for 1997 (the new owner at one point threatening to replace him with a pay driver unless he signed for another season) but
16912-555: The team went with Cosworth engines as the £15million lease fee for Ferrari engines was too great. The teams supply issues were apparent again, after Michelin stepped away in November 2002 as tyre supplier, with Jos Verstappen arriving to test in Valencia and Minardi had no tyres for the PS03. Therefore, Verstappen tested the 2001 PS01 on Avon F3000 tyres. It would not be until late February 2003 an agreement with Bridgestone
17063-514: The testing hack showing well against upper-midfield teams such as Benetton and Williams in various test sessions until Postlethwaite died of a heart attack. Not long after, Honda changed their plans from becoming a team to a works engine supplier and Verstappen was again without a Formula One seat. He tested for the Jordan team in case Damon Hill decided to retire before the end of the season but this came to nothing when Verstappen's testing performance
17214-406: The time of a violent incident in 1962, in which Sir Oswald was knocked down by a mob in London and saved from serious injury by his son's intervention. As a result of his involvement in this fracas, Mosley was arrested and charged with threatening behaviour. He was later cleared at Old Street Magistrates' Court on the grounds that he was trying to protect his father. By 1964, when he began work as
17365-584: The value of their investment. In 2001, the Grand Prix Manufacturers Association (GPMA) announced an alternative world championship, the Grand Prix World Championship to start by 2008. The GPMA stipulated that the championship should not be regulated by the FIA, which Lovell believes was because the organisation believed Mosley was too close to Ecclestone. The proposed championship came to nothing and
17516-529: The victim. In December 2008, with the couple effectively separated, Verstappen appeared in court in Tongeren , Belgium , charged with assaulting his ex-wife, Sophie Kumpen. He was found not guilty of assault, but guilty of threatening Kumpen in text messages and of violating a previously issued restraining order . He was fined and sentenced to three months probational , suspended prison sentence. In January 2009, Verstappen again had to appear in court and
17667-414: The young Japanese driver. Tyrrell himself left the team in disgust over the matter, leaving Dr. Harvey Postlethwaite to run the team. Out of a regular drive for 1998, Verstappen tested for Benetton once again early in the year, but the team would not hire him as a permanent test driver for lack of sponsors . As an experienced, fast free agent Verstappen was a common name mentioned in pit lane gossip as
17818-434: Was FISA's parent body, representing road car users worldwide. In the same year, Mosley was nominated for a role at the FIA's Bureau Permanent International de Constructeurs d'Automobile (BPICA). His nomination was blocked by French, Italian, and German manufacturers. In the early 1980s, Mosley represented FOCA in the " FISA–FOCA war ", a conflict between FOCA, representing the mainly UK-based independent teams, and FISA, which
17969-414: Was a backer of several teams including McLaren ; McLaren also enjoyed a long-term relationship with Marlboro , as did Ferrari , and Mild Seven backed Benetton's Formula One effort. The Labour party had pledged to ban tobacco advertising in its manifesto ahead of its 1997 General Election victory , supporting a proposed European Union Directive . The Labour Party's stance on banning tobacco advertising
18120-403: Was a difficult season with little opportunity to shine. His best result was 9th at the Canadian Grand Prix , one place away from a point under the new scoring system. At the Brazilian Grand Prix , he had been running ahead of eventual winner Giancarlo Fisichella on the same strategy only to spin off on standing water, but generally the year was one to forget – and many noted that Verstappen
18271-455: Was a lawyer". He was unimpressed with the standard of negotiations: "our side all went in a group because no-one trusted anyone else and all were afraid that someone would break ranks and make a private deal." In 1971, British businessman Bernie Ecclestone bought the Brabham team, and Mosley recalled that: Within about 20 minutes of [Ecclestone] turning up at the [GPCA] meeting, it
18422-562: Was also a race-winner in the 2005–06 A1 Grand Prix series, representing the Netherlands . In rallying , he competed in the 2022 Ypres Rally as an independent entrant. Since 2002, Verstappen has coached and managed his son Max from karting at an early age to winning four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles . Max's successes in the sport have renewed public scrutiny of Verstappen, who has faced several allegations of assault spanning two decades. Verstappen began karting at
18573-448: Was also successful in selling Marches to other Formula One teams, such as Williams and Penske . The cars were rarely frontrunners, although the works team won a single race in both 1975 and 1976. By the end of 1977, Mosley was fed up with the struggle to compete in Formula One with no resources and left to work for FOCA full-time, selling his shares in the company to Herd but remaining as a director. March's involvement in Formula One ended
18724-437: Was always a certain amount of trouble [being the son of Sir Oswald] until I came into motor racing. And in one of the first races I ever took part in there was a list of people when they put the practice times [...] and I heard somebody say, 'Mosley, Max Mosley, he must be some relation of Alf Mos[e]ley, the coachbuilder.' And I thought to myself, 'I've found a world where they don't know about Oswald Mosley.' And it has always been
18875-467: Was always found to support at least one car. Motorsport historian Mike Lawrence credits Mosley with pressing for a six-wheeled March to be built as a draw for sponsors, having seen the popularity with fans of Tyrrell's six-wheeled P34 . The resulting March 2-4-0 never competed in Formula One, but generated the required publicity and a Scalextric slotcar model was profitable. Mosley spent much of his time negotiating deals for drivers with sponsorship and
19026-452: Was apparent that here was someone who knew how many beans made five and after about half an hour he moved round the table to sit next to me, and from then on he and I started operating as a team. Within a very short time, the two of us were doing everything for the GPCA, instead of everyone moving around in a block, and from that developed FOCA. The Formula One Constructors' Association (FOCA)
19177-571: Was appointed a vice-president of the FIA with responsibility for promotional affairs, with authority over Formula One and the other motor sports authorised by the FIA. In 1991, Mosley challenged Balestre for the presidency of FISA. Mosley said that his decision to challenge the Frenchman was prompted by Balestre's reported intervention on behalf of his countryman Alain Prost to ensure that race stewards disqualified Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna from
19328-480: Was arrested on attempted murder charges following accusations that he drove a car into his ex-girlfriend in Roermond - who was taken by ambulance to hospital with heavy bruises and abrasions. Verstappen was previously accused of beating his girlfriend. "It's definitely not the first time he does this," the unnamed woman told RTL television. "I think now I need to go and hide -- I don't know what to expect now when he
19479-573: Was born into this rather strange family and then at a certain point you get away from that." While he distanced himself from this period of his life, the "misunderstanding has remained and today...he carries that weight on his shoulders." In a 1961 by-election , Mosley was an election agent for the Union Movement, supporting Walter Hesketh, the UM's parliamentary candidate for Manchester Moss Side . The motor racing journalist Alan Henry described him as one of his father's "right-hand men" at
19630-402: Was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance. (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) ( key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Max Mosley Max Rufus Mosley (13 April 1940 – 23 May 2021) was a British businessman, lawyer and racing driver . He served as president of
19781-477: Was convicted to a three months suspended prison sentence and a 1650 Euro fine for sending his ex-wife threatening text messages and visiting her house despite a restraining order. On 29 November 2011, the media reported allegations that Verstappen had assaulted an unnamed 24 year old girlfriend in a hotel room in the Dutch city of Venlo ; Verstappen claimed to only have had a discussion with her. In January 2012, he
19932-660: Was created in 1974 by Ecclestone, Colin Chapman , Teddy Mayer , Mosley, Ken Tyrrell , and Frank Williams . FOCA would represent the commercial interests of the teams at meetings with the Commission Sportive Internationale (CSI) a commission of the FIA and motorsport's world governing body. The CSI later became the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA), motorsport's world governing body. After leaving March at
20083-407: Was dropped at the eleventh hour in favour of Heinz-Harald Frentzen . Later that year he almost signed a test contract with Sauber but he turned out to be physically too large for the car , which was smaller than its predecessor. He returned to the cockpit in 2003 with Paul Stoddart 's European Minardi team, considered the tail enders of the grid. With limited funds and underpowered engines it
20234-547: Was educated in France, Germany, and Britain before attending university at Christ Church, Oxford , where he graduated with a degree in physics. He then changed to law and was called to the bar in 1964. In his teens and early twenties, Mosley was involved with his father's post-war political party, the Union Movement (UM). He commented that the association of his surname with fascism stopped him from developing his interest in politics further, although he briefly worked for
20385-539: Was elected unopposed to his fourth term as president of the FIA in 2005. In recognition of his contribution to road safety and motorsport, Mosley was made a Chevalier dans l'Ordre de la Légion d'honneur in 2006. The Légion d'honneur (Legion of Honour) is France's highest decoration for outstanding achievements in military or civil life; a Chevalier (Knight) is the fifth class. Continuing a theme of his presidency, in 2006 Mosley called for Formula One manufacturers to develop technology relevant to road cars. In recent years,
20536-432: Was illegal by EU rules, that Formula One needed more time to find alternative sources of funding and that the prompt introduction of a ban would lead to races being held outside Europe, while the coverage, including tobacco logos, would still be broadcast into the EU. He also argued that: Motor racing was a world class industry which put Britain at the hi-tech edge. Deprived of tobacco money, Formula One would move abroad at
20687-627: Was imprisoned a month later. Max and his brother Alexander were not included in their parents' internment and, as a result, were separated from them for the first few years of their lives. In December 1940, Prime Minister Winston Churchill asked the Home Secretary Herbert Morrison to ensure Lady Mosley was able to see Max regularly. Sir Oswald and Lady Mosley were released from detention at HMP Holloway on 16 November 1943, provoking widespread public protests. Their children were refused entry to several schools, due to
20838-426: Was initially successful. In Formula One, March cars won three of their first four races. One of these was a world championship race, the 1970 Spanish Grand Prix , won by reigning world champion Jackie Stewart in a customer car run by Tyrrell Racing . As a result, March finished third in the 1970 Constructors' Championship . The factory also sold 40 cars to customers in various lower formulae. Despite these successes,
20989-460: Was lapping near his existing record after five laps, but then crashed the car, ending the test early. After the test, Verstappen was contacted by every Formula One team except Ferrari and Williams , and was eventually signed as the Benetton team's test driver for the 1994 season . After a crash in pre-season testing by regular driver JJ Lehto (who broke a vertebra ), Verstappen drove in
21140-517: Was largely outperformed by rookie teammate Justin Wilson . At the French Grand Prix, Verstappen recorded his and Minardi's only provisional pole position in the first qualifying session by running last on a rapidly-drying track; in the second, dry qualifying session, Verstappen qualified on the team's usual back row. Saturday qualifying, due to wet weather At the end of the year he left the Italian team because he did not feel like driving in
21291-519: Was later vetoed by the European Commission. Mosley's agreement with Ecclestone on television rights for F1 angered three of the team principals in particular: Ron Dennis (McLaren), Frank Williams (Williams), and Ken Tyrrell (Tyrrell), who felt that neither Ecclestone nor the FIA had the right to make such an agreement without the teams. They refused to sign the 1997 Concorde Agreement without increased financial returns and threatened to make
21442-472: Was left casting around for a drive again. However, for once it looked like things were going in the right direction for Verstappen. Near the end of 1998 he became the test driver for the Honda Formula One project. He teamed up with old Tyrrell friends Rupert Manwaring and Harvey Postlethwaite, planning to test the new car in 1999 and join the series in 2000. All went well for the operation, with
21593-465: Was reached, Mosley feared that the FIA was losing control over the sport following a heated argument with Ecclestone in Paris. Ecclestone argued that he had built Formula One into the entity that it was and the FIA only had rights to designate the event as official. Ecclestone threatened to "do a scorched earth " if another party were to gain control of the commercial side of Formula One. Mosley came up with
21744-627: Was reached. Late in February, Minardi held a test session at Imola Circuit where the second Cosworth powered PS03 chassis was tested for the first time, with Bridgestone tyres. Just 24 hours before the car would be packed for transit to Australia for the first round. The PS03 was launched formally in Melbourne , Australia ahead of the first race. The 2003 season was largely challenging for Minardi. The PS03 secured no points all season and retired from 11 races, including Justin Wilson retiring from
21895-486: Was reinforced following the election by forceful statements from the Health Secretary Frank Dobson and Minister for Public Health Tessa Jowell . Ecclestone appealed "over Jowell's head" to Jonathan Powell , Tony Blair 's chief of staff, who arranged a meeting with Blair. Ecclestone and Mosley, both Labour Party donors, met Blair on 16 October 1997. Mosley argued that the proposed legislation
22046-443: Was reported that Verstappen physically attacked his own father, Dutchman Frans Verstappen in his hometown of Montford. According to the official report, it happened shortly after the 2016 Hungarian Grand Prix De Telegraaf, a large Dutch media group, said Frans Verstappen filed a complaint with the police. “We’ve seen before that Jos has loose hands but this was the limit,” Frans, showing multiple wounds and bruises on his body and head,
22197-493: Was secretary of the Oxford Union where his father spoke on two occasions, once with Jeremy Thorpe on the other side. In 1960, Mosley introduced his father to Robert Skidelsky , one of Mosley's contemporaries at the university, later a biographer of his father. Rejecting an early ambition to work as a physicist after "establishing that there was no money in it", Mosley studied law at Gray's Inn in London and qualified as
22348-509: Was signed for the 1995 season instead of Verstappen. In 1995 he was loaned to Simtek by Benetton team principal Flavio Briatore . Despite some strong showings (including running 6th at the Argentine Grand Prix before a poor pit stop and subsequent gearbox failure) Verstappen only finished once in the five races he drove for the team due to technical difficulties. The team had deep financial troubles and went bankrupt after
22499-411: Was supported by the " grandee " constructors owned by road car manufacturers (primarily Alfa Romeo , Ferrari , and Renault ). In 1980, FOCA announced its own World Federation of Motor Sport and ran the non-championship 1981 South African Grand Prix . The staging of this event, with worldwide television coverage, helped persuade Jean-Marie Balestre , the FISA president, that FISA would have to negotiate
22650-540: Was the best option for coverage and the FIA reinstated the European Truck Racing Cup. Between 1997 and 2000, Mosley repeatedly warned that if any EU decision went against the FIA, the marketing organisations and F1 itself would be moved out of Europe. In 1999, the EU Commission Directorate-General for Competition issued a Statement of Objections, listing a number of grievances surrounding the FIA's dealings with Ecclestone and Formula One. The FIA released
22801-408: Was underwhelming and Hill resolved to see out the season. In 2000 he returned to Arrows , who had put together a package including Supertec engines, a chassis with good straight-line speed and a bevy of sponsors. The car proved to be unreliable, but its speed allowed Verstappen and teammate Pedro de la Rosa to dice with the front runners at several circuits. The design's small fuel tank meant
#859140