Mosley: Finding new president a challenge

Mosley has said for several months that he plans to relinquish his presidency when his term ends next October, despite saying that there is pressure on him from members of the governing body for him to continue.

And although not admitting that the matter is now open to review, Mosley has said a definitive decision on his future will be made only in the middle of 2009.

When asked by the official F1 website whether he still had no plans to stand for re-election, Mosley said: "Yes, but I will take a final decision in June."

Mosley said he felt any potential successor should consider the challenges of the job very carefully before deciding to put themselves forward for election.

Speaking about the qualities an FIA president needed, Mosley said: "A great deal of patience and ideally an ability to understand quickly a great variety of technical and legal issues. I would advise a potential successor to think very carefully before standing for election."

He also played down the prospects of new deputy president Nick Craw from the United States stepping up to become president.

"The difficulty is finding somebody who has the necessary experience, but also the time and inclination to do the job," he explained. "You mention Nick Craw. He is the president of ACCUS, which controls all the different forms of racing in the United States. With all this to contend with, he is probably not exactly looking for work."

When asked to review the things from his presidency that he was most proud of, Mosley singled out the safety improvements he brought to F1 and road cars.

"I think the biggest achievements will have been the improvements in safety both on public roads and on the circuits," he said. "However, one must remember that a great many other people have been involved.

"I initiated these things, but others have made them work. The greatest disappointment has been the tendency of some fans to criticise without understanding what we are trying to do."