Formula One has endured and survived various scandals over the past 50 years – most of them concerned with allegations of cheating – but nothing like the Max Mosley affair, which continues to hang over this most image-conscious of sports like a black cloud.

In the highly politicised world of the paddock there are some individuals who, for pragmatic reasons connected with negotiations over the future direction of Formula One, have offered their public support to the FIA president. But the majority would have preferred it if he had stepped down as soon as disclosures about his involvement with prostitutes and sadomasochism were published.

The view from within the sport is that the court case, while a victory of sorts for Mr Mosley, has changed nothing. As one senior source within Formula One put it yesterday: “Was what the News of the World reported about him good for the FIA and Formula One? No. Has that changed with this verdict? No.”

Mr Mosley’s difficulty is that, having had the details of his private life wrongfully exposed, features of his character are now widely known, which a majority of people within the sport believe make his position untenable. The court case has, if anything, harmed him further as more details of his activities and the longevity of his secret interests have been divulged.

Within Formula One Mr Mosley is thus variously seen as a ludicrous figure, someone who is embarrassing to be seen with, or, among his most virulent detractors, as a social pariah whose continued presence at the top of the sport’s governing body will actively discourage sponsors and investors from getting involved. One team source said: “It’s such a shame that Max brought this on himself because it’s tarnished his whole presidency. He’s done a great job but now there is this question about his credibility.”

One of the unique features of this miserable saga is that no one in Formula One can get rid of Mr Mosley, not even the commercial rights holder, Bernie Ecclestone, who has made it quite clear that he believes it would have been best if his old friend and colleague had resigned. That is because Mr Mosley is elected, and has been endorsed in the wake of the scandal, by the members of the FIA, who have nothing to do with Formula One. Mr Mosley has said that he will stay in office at least until the end of his current remit, in October next year.

His decision to carry on has amazed even those who thought they knew him well. It appears to have been born out of Mr Mosley’s bloody-minded determination not to be pushed out, together with his fervent belief that he was deliberately set up by opponents who wanted to get rid of him and who wrongly calculated that he would crumble when faced with such embarrassing revelations.

Several people, among them Mr Ecclestone, have gone so far as to deny any involvement in trying to bring Mr Mosley down.