Prost: Mosley should be judged on ability

Prost, speaking exclusively to autosport.com, said that while the details of the scandal itself are private 'and should not be judged', it was up to the FIA delegates and Formula One's manufacturers to decide whether it affected their ability to work with Mosley.

"Obviously you have a private thing, and I know that everybody says that but it's true," said France's only F1 world champion. "You cannot judge very much the private thing.

"The second thing is the sport, and the effect it is going to have on it. I'm not involved any more. But [when you are an] F1 team manager or a constructor, then you live in the system. You have meetings, and you can judge yourself if it is bad.

"It cannot be good. But is it very bad? Or is it a private thing and we should not interfere?

"Only themselves, they can judge and they can decide what to do."

Prost added that it was crucial, with Mosley holding such a key position within motorsport's governing framework, that the focus of any discussion must remain focussed on his ability to continue to carry on his work unhindered.

He also suggested that the details of the scandal itself should not be used as a reason to oust Mosley from power.

"Some people either like Max or they don't," he said. "He has a lot of friends but he also has a lot of enemies. But you should not use that as a personal affair.

"I think it's only the people involved in the thing, the constructors and the politics, they need to decide if, because there are a lot of very important decisions that have to be made about the sport in general. And Max is a really key person and that is the problem.

"If you cannot talk to him, or you cannot have a close relationship with him, because of that, to make the right decision for the future, for the environment, for the technical decisions, then it becomes a problem.

"Only they can judge and then they have to make the right decision in June, considering this problem."

Mosley maintains he has done nothing wrong and that he has received significant support from the motorsport industry, despite the criticisms issued in statements by Formula One manufacturers Honda, Toyota, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz.

He has also said he is pursuing legal action against the News of the World, the newspaper that sparked the scandal with a front-page expose in March, and plans to donate any damages received to charity.

Mosley recently announced his intention, should he remain in charge, to step down at the end of his term in 2009.