The reign of Max Mosley as ruler - for that is what he was - of world motorsport and Formula One has come to an end. Like all men who enjoy almost unfettered power, there was always a danger he would over-reach himself and that, in the end, has been the case with Mosley.

The FIA president has fought and won battle after battle with the teams in Formula One and he came to believe that he could not be defeated. But when he tried to impose what was styled by him as a "voluntary" budget cap, he went too far. The problem was not so much the detail of the proposals, although there were elements which certainly annoyed team principals, but the fact that the scheme gave Mosley an interventionist role in the way the teams run their affairs. To put it bluntly they did not trust nor want him to have that say and they decided to make a stand.

In many ways this was a classic revolution by the ruled over the ruler. The teams organised themselves in a tightly-knit group and then they took the fight to Mosley, playing their hand with some skill. So long as the majority of them stayed together, they knew they held a trump card in the form of a breakaway; Mosley was left in charge of the left-overs, a rump Formula One consisting of only two of the present teams and an assortment of new-comers, and it was not going to work.

The departure of Mosley brings an abrupt end to the partnership he enjoyed with Bernie Ecclestone, the sport's commercial rights holder. Between them they created and bossed one of the world's most successful sports. Mosley may have angered the teams at many stages but he also made a huge contribution to Formula One, to motorsport and to road safety during his tenure.

With his departure there is genuine hope, however, that the governance of the sport will now become more accountable, there will be more consultation between the FIA and the teams and the era of spin and manipulation of the media and of Machiavellian trickery, which characterised Mosley's tenure, will also become a thing of the past.