Mosley bites back at Dennis and Williams
Max Mosley, the president of the sport's governing body, the FIA, has responded to the letter sent to him by Formula 1 team principals Ron Dennis and Frank Williams by labelling it "very disappointing".
Mosley attacks the two team owners for their conduct on February 20, when they announced they were taking the FIA to arbitration over its recent rule changes.
He wrote: "You both knew perfectly well that, at least until January 15 [when the rule changes were announced], there was great unease among sponsors, television networks and race promoters about Formula 1. You must also have known that to announce your intention to go to arbitration would add to this unease and revive all the worries of the winter break.
"Yet, having instructed solicitors to write to us on February 20 saying that arbitration would commence unless we agreed to compromise by February 26, you went to the world's media on February 20 without waiting for a response, indeed before we even had the letter. How irresponsible. You waited five weeks after the January 15 meeting without reacting or seeking a meeting. Could you not have waited another six days for our response to your solicitors' letter before once again destabilising the FIA Formula 1 World Championship?"
Mosley says the letter sent by Dennis and Williams on February 20, responding to his letter of February 7 which outlined his long-term view of the sport, was "unfocused" and "wanders through the measures announced on January 15 and touches on my letter of February 7, confusing the two".
He added: "It is impossible to have a dialogue if the response to a carefully considered set of proposals is a collection of vague claims and confused criticisms with no discernable attempt to address the arguments."
Mosley denies that the FIA is in breach of the Concorde Agreement and/or European law, and says he has contacted their solicitors to explain the contested measures over which they are seeking to take the FIA to arbitration, but the solicitors have refused to answer.
He responds to the accusation that the removal of telemetry and a reduction in preparation time ahead of a grand prix is "obvious nonsense" and a "threadbare argument". Mosley also accuses them of attempting to grab television money at Minardi's expense.
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