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F1: Furious Mosley says peace deal in doubt

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Khatir Soltani
From GMM

With F1's peace deal less than two days old, a resumption of the dispute is now a possibility, furious FIA president Max Mosley wrote in a letter on Thursday.

The 69-year-old Briton is angry at the letter's recipient, Luca di Montezemolo, after the Ferrari and FOTA chief made allegedly "false statements" about their Paris agreement on Wednesday.

Montezemolo had described Mosley, now reconsidering his decision to step down in October, as a "dictator", and briefed the media about Michel Boeri now taking over all responsibility for the FIA's F1 relations.

Mosley also clearly suspects Montezemolo guided the media interpretation of the agreement, with Italian titles including Gazzetta dello Sport, Corriere dello Sport, Tuttosport and La Repubblica declaring that Ferrari "won" the Mosley battle.

Corriere della Sera went as far as to praise Montezemolo for finding "peace" and "receiving Mosley's head".

Mosley believes Montezemolo has reneged on their peace deal.

"A fundamental part of this (deal) was that we would both present a positive and truthful account. You've suggested I was a dictator, an accusation grossly insulting," he wrote.

"If you wish the agreement we made to have any chance of survival, you and FOTA must immediately rectify your actions. You must correct the false statements which have been made and make no further such statements."

Mosley contradicted the Boeri suggestion, insisting he retains "full authority at least until October", and said FOTA's "deliberate attempt to mislead the media" means he now considers "my options open".

Montezemolo and FOTA did not apologise at their Bologna press conference, the former issuing only a questionable thanks for Mosley's promise to leave his post.

"We are pleased to thank the president of the FIA for his decision to leave the FIA in October, for the work that he has done -ñ particularly for safety because this was, and still is, a big priority in formula one and the sport," the Italian said.

He also risked further raising Mosley's temper by not referring to a mutual agreement but by thanking the FIA for "approving and accepting FOTA's proposals".

Montezemolo's clarification was then put in the form of an official statement, pointing out that Mosley "said that he had thought about leaving already some time ago and that his staff knew about it".

"Therefore I have to say, in a moment when Mosley is leaving, that I have to thank him, beyond the points of controversy we had, because he has been working very well, especially as far as safety is concerned," the Ferrari president added.

It is believed Montezemolo also replied in writing to Mosley, arguing that the events had been misunderstood by sections of the media.

Niki Lauda, meanwhile, believes Mosley has a point, insisting that the FIA president was not ousted but vowed simply to "no longer stand as a (election) candidate".

"There is a big difference," the former triple world champion said.
Khatir Soltani
Khatir Soltani
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