Former FIA president Max Mosley (81) has passed away

Sad news in the world of motorsport: former FIA president Max Mosley (81) has passed away. Andrew Benson of the BBC has reported this via Twitter. Mosley was the head of the FIA from 1993 to 2009, until he was succeeded by Jean Todt.

Mosley was the head of the FIA for many years, but he also liked to get into a racing car himself. For example, he was active as a racing driver in the 1960s and even won Formula 2.

Although he never raced in F1, he did make the switch to the class in 1970. Mosley founded, with three others, the famous March Engineering team. Several well-known drivers drove for his team, such as Niki Lauda, Ronine Peterson, Chris Amon and Jan Lammers.

In 1993 he became president of the FIA, in a difficult period for the sport. After the death of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger, he was one of the important figures who made changes to the tracks and cars in terms of safety.

Mosely became a campaigner for strict press controls after stories about his private life appeared in former British newspaper News Of The World with unfounded allegations regarding Nazi connotations. He successfully sued its publisher.