Mosley to leave Britain

Mosley is closing the FIA's offices in London's Trafalgar Square, and is also selling his home in the nation's capital. The FIA's London staff are due to move into their new offices before the start of the European F1 season.

The FIA president decided to move to Monaco after he was advised by his lawyers that he and F1 race director Charlie Whiting could face prosecution in the event of a fatal crash in an FIA-sanctioned event in the European Union. His concerns arise from the introduction of the European Arrest Warrant, which eases extradition between EU countries.

"This is not a snap decision," Mosley told The Times. "We have been discussing this legislation for some time and our advice is that this is our best protection. As long as I am president of the FIA, I will have to live in Monaco for my own safety and to avoid a law which is not sensible when applied to F1. If some local police authority wants a scapegoat for an accident at a circuit, they could easily come after me or Charlie Whiting. And they can come after you in your own home - but not if I am in Monaco.

"We are not asking to operate above the law, Wherever F1 goes, we obey the law and we give an undertaking to follow the legal processes. But this law is really dangerous and we cannot have F1 personnel prosecuted and imprisoned on the whim of a local magistrate and possibly held for months until trial."

Mosley's decision follows concerns voiced by several F1 team principals over the European Arrest Warrant. Speaking at the launch of his team's 2004 challenger, BAR boss David Richards warned that teams could be forced to move outside the EU to avoid the law.