Mosley may Need to Resign, Says Stewart

Minardi chief Paul Stoddart has called for Mosley to take responsibility as the leader of Formula One and resign from his position, after seven of the ten Formula One teams failed to take the start of the Indianapolis race because of faulty tyres. Attempts to find a solution that would allow the teams to race have failed, as both FIA and the teams refused to accept the other side's solutions.

"I think it has to be looked at," Stewart told BBC Radio 5 Live, when asked if Mosley should resign. "There was so much disruption caused by this event. In all my years in motorsport I have never seen such disruption and it was totally avoidable.

"In the normal business sector if a situation like that happened and the management structure is in question, the people at the top are vulnerable."

Stewart emphasised the biggest problem Mosley faces today is a lack of trust in his leadership from many of the team principals.

"It is a problem he has to recognise," the Scot said. "You cannot reign and have confidence if you don't have the people behind you. They have to trust in you. He has been threatened over some time and this latest incident, where no compromise was reached, is a serious threat."

Stewart said he himself would not be interested in Mosley's job, however, and said Mosley's replacement should ideally come from outside Formula One.

"It is not a job that would interest me and, in fact, if there is new management I think you would need to go to the outside world to get it," Stewart told BBC. "I don't think it should be brought in from within the sport and based on a name or a reputation. I believe this sport has the largest capital investment in the world and it needs to be run professionally by experts."

But Stewart, who founded his own team in 1997 with his son Paul before selling it to Ford two years later, ruled out threats of boycott if the teams summoned to appear in front of the FIA's World Motor Sport Council on Wednesday were to be banned.

Stoddart told BBC Radio 5 Live the teams could decide to boycott the French Grand Prix if they are served harsh penalties by the WMSC, and Stewart said such actions would be even more harmful.

"I think that would be scandalous," Stewart said of the possibility of a race boycott. "The sport cannot go on with the leadership it has if that is the case. The teams are supported by multinational companies, so to give a no-show is unacceptable."