FIA president Max Mosley has claimed that he is under pressure to stand for re-election from other members of the sport's governing body.
Mosley had promised he would stand down this October as part of a deal brokered with rebel Formula One teams, who were threatening to set up a breakaway championship.
However, he has been angered by claims made by the teams suggesting he had been deposed, and removed from power with immediate effect. He initially demanded an apology from the teams, but with none forthcoming he is now threatening to stand for election again.
Mosley, speaking in an interview with the Mail on Sunday, said: "They made the mistake of dancing on my grave before I was buried. It's no good the teams getting a PR agency to claim I am dead and buried when I am standing here as large as life. I am under pressure now from all over the world to stand for re-election."
However, Mosley claims he doesn't want to break the deal with the teams, and says he will only do so if he has to.
"I don't actually want to," he said. "I feel I am a little bit too old.
"When I started I was old enough to be the father of the younger Formula 1 drivers; now I am old enough to be the grandfather of some of those driving today. Although I don't feel old, I must seem very old to them. It definitely needs somebody new from that point of view.
"Generally, when you have done something for 16 years, as I have done, it's about time to stop. You get a little bit stale.
"I do genuinely want to stop. But if there is going to be a big conflict with the car industry, for example, with the FOTA teams, then I won't stop. I will do whatever I have to do. It's not in my nature to walk away from a fight."
Add your comment