Just seven weeks ago Bernie Ecclestone, ringmaster of the Formula One motor
racing circus, was asked by an interviewer what was wrong with the sport.
“There aren’t enough sex scandals,” he replied.
Well, he’s got one now. The talk in the paddock at a grand prix is usually of
pit stops and pole positions. This weekend in Bahrain, however, barely a
mention is being made of events on the track. The only thing anyone wants to
talk about is a “sick Nazi orgy” involving Max Mosley, president of the
sport’s governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA).
Jody Scheckter, the 1979 world champion who is in Bahrain, said: “Everybody is
talking about it. Everyone knows how bad it is.”
Last weekend Mosley was exposed by the News of the World as having engaged in
a five-hour sadomasochistic orgy with five prostitutes in a basement flat in
Chelsea, west London. The paper’s coverage included allegations that there
was a Nazi role-playing element to the sex session.
This suggestion – which Mosley strongly denies – elevated the story above the
usual tabloid fare because the 67-year-old just happens to be the son of Sir
Oswald Molsey, the leader of Britain’s black-shirted fascists before the
second world war.
Condemnation rained down on Mosley, especially from the large motor
manufacturers that control the sport’s teams and were mindful of a looming
public relations disaster.
Mosley did not help his cause. When responding to their criticism of his
“disgraceful behaviour”, he infuriated the German teams supported by BMW and
Mercedes by reminding them of their links with the Nazi regime.
There were fears in F1 circles this weekend that Toyota and Honda, the
Japanese firms that have had expensive and unsuccessful spells in the sport,
might use the furore as an excuse to disband their teams.
Yesterday the American Automobile Association (AAA), which has 50m members and
is a key voice in the FIA, added to the calls for Mosley to quit. “While
this matter may be viewed as private by some, the damage to the image of the
FIA and its constituents is clearly public,” said a spokeswoman.
Mosley has stayed away from Bahrain. He would not have been welcome anyway.
The emirate’s crown prince declared on Wednesday that “I feel that under the
current circumstances it would be inappropriate for you to be in Bahrain at
this time”.
European royals such as King Juan Carlos of Spain and Prince Albert of Monaco
are also understood to be unwilling to welcome Mosley to their countries
when they host forthcoming grands prix. This weekend Ecclestone said in an
interview that the scandal was “an issue for the FIA”. Privately, he was
admitting that Mosley cannot survive.
Yet Mosley, who qualified as a barrister, continues to fight his case. Yes, I
betrayed my wife of 48 years and had grubby sex with five prostitutes, he
admits. No, I did not pretend to be a Nazi, he says.
He claims that private detectives were hired to help to set him up and that
film of the orgy has been edited to make it look as if it involved
role-playing between Nazi guards and concentration camp victims. On Friday
he served proceedings on the News of the World alleging breach of privacy
and claiming “unlimited damages”.
Last night the newspaper published the story of one of the prostitutes
involved. She claimed: “Max knew last week’s orgy was to have a Nazi theme –
he ordered it.” The paper also alleged that Mosley filmed some of the
proceedings with his own video camera and two of the hookers wore “German
military jackets with eagle and tunic collars”.
Mosley now has his own private detectives. Yesterday his camp claimed they had
discovered the joke shop where the prison uniforms were bought. “They were
American convict uniforms,” said one of his friends. “The scenario was more
Alcatraz than Auschwitz.” WHEN Mosley negotiated the tricky bend in a
Chelsea street on foot nine days ago, and turned down a flight of steps to a
basement flat, he failed to notice the nondescript van parked at the kerb.
After all, there was no reason why it would attract his attention. It was
dirty white, not Ferrari red.
A video camera peeping out through its rear window recorded every step. It was
perfect. Not only was the “mark” on time for his appointment but he was also
wearing a dirty old man’s raincoat.
Once in the flat Mosley was greeted by the five prostitutes. At least one of
them had a tiny camera, no larger than a sugar cube, concealed in her bra.
Mosley handed over £2,500 in cash and for the next five hours he enjoyed a
“romp” which included sex, bondage, whipping and spanking.
First, he was deloused in the manner of a prisoner arriving at a jail. Then he
was “punished” for lying about his age to a dominatrix – he claimed to be
42. At least two of the girls spoke German and two wore striped prison
uniforms. Mosley spoke German back, counting out blows on his bare bottom.
“Eins! Zwei! Drei! Vier! Fünf!”
“Red-faced and panting, Mosley looks on like a child in a sweet shop, but
surrounded by bright red bottoms” was how the News of the World memorably
described the scene.
All of it was captured on the camera and transmitted to a receiver in an
adjoining room. When he was finished, Mosley stood naked drinking a cup of
tea with his playmates.
Inside the world of F1, Mosley is known for his authoritar-ian style and his
exotic tastes. Just two days before he embarked on his orgy, a race fan
posted this prophetic message on the Atlas F1 bulletin board: “We know
Mosley likes being despised, so can’t rule out the possibility of him
wanting to experience extra sadomasochistic pleasure.”
His motor racing peers appear to have little problem with Mosley’s use of
prostitutes, but the Nazi allegations have caused uproar. “If Max was in bed
with two hookers, they’d say ‘good for you’ or something like that,” said
Ecclestone. “But this, as it is, people find repulsive. I think that’s the
problem.”
Sex has always been a key component of motor racing. The daredevil drivers are
a magnet for pretty girls. James Hunt, the late British world champion, used
to wear a T-shirt with the logo, “Sex: the breakfast of champions”. There is
an enduring F1 legend about one driver in the 1980s having sex with a
princess across the bonnet of a car in a garage.
Among the huge entourage that accompanies the sport around the world there is
an atmosphere of sexual freedom. One public relations executive who worked
in F1 until recently said: “It was great as a single twentysomething man and
I wasn’t even a driver. But I had to get out. I found myself a girlfriend
and she knew that me going to races and all the parties were not compatible
with a serious relationship.”
Even in such an environment, Mosley’s alleged Nazi antics were bound to get
him into serious trouble. Many, however, have detected a conspiracy against
him.
Since the scandal broke, the forums and bulletin boards have been full of
theories as to who set him up. The £2m flat where the orgy took place is not
a recognised brothel and had probably been rented as a place into which to
lure Mosley. The prostitutes led by the main dominatrix, “a stern blonde”
who the News of the World said last night is known as Mistress Switch,
arrived 30 minutes before Mosley, suggesting they were not normally based
there.
George McCoy, who writes guides to “adult services”, says it is rare to find
five prostitutes offering “corrective discipline” together. “I know of
dungeons in Manchester and Huddersfield, but I have never heard of one in
Chelsea,” he said.
An insider told The Sunday Times that an “agent” had tipped off the News of
the World about where it could find Mosley. But who would want to bring him
down?
With Ecclestone, Mosley has run F1 since 1993, turning it into a business with
a turnover of about £2 billion a year. But he has made many enemies.
“So many people in the paddock have been subjected to his regime over the
years that there is a feeling of what goes around comes around,” said one
former racing driver.
Mosley is still convinced that he can weather the storm. Yesterday the
contents of a letter he wrote to Peter Meyer, president of Germany’s
motoring federation, were revealed.
“Had I been caught driving excessively fast on a public road or over the
alcohol limit (even in, say, Sweden where it is very low) I should have
resigned the same day,” he wrote. “As it is, a scandal paper obtained by
illegal means pictures of something I did in private which, although
unacceptable to some people, was harmless and completely legal.”
He is suing the News of the World for breach of privacy. His argument is
expected to be that he had a reasonable expectation of privacy while
engaging in the orgy in private premises. The newspaper says it will
vigorously defend itself. Last night it said it will forward a copy of its
tape of the orgy to the FIA’s governing senate.
Mosley is throwing himself on the mercy of the FIA’s 222-member council, which
will meet in Paris next month or in June to decide his fate, if events have
not overtaken it. The AAA is merely the latest of the national motoring
organisations that make up the body that has said he should resign.
It will be a surprise if F1’s whipping boy can limp along until then. Additional
reporting: Richard Rae in Bahrain
Bahrain is a Kingdom, chaps, not an Emirate.
Nick Garton, Sakhir, Bahrain