Max Mosley was born on 13 April 1940 in London, the youngest son of Sir Oswald Mosley, former leader of the British Union of Fascists, and Diana Mitford, a member of the Mitford family. After his birth, his father was interned by the Churchill government under Defence Regulation 18B, and his mother was imprisoned a month later, separating Mosley and his brother Alexander from their parents for several years. He was educated in France, Germany, and Britain, before graduating with a degree in physics from Christ Church, Oxford, and later qualifying as a barrister in 1964.
Mosley began racing cars after qualifying as a barrister, teaching law in the evenings to fund his motorsport ambitions. He competed in over 40 national races in 1966 and 1967, winning 12 and setting several class lap records. In 1968, he co-founded the London Racing Team with Chris Lambert to compete in European Formula Two, a feeder series to Formula One. He participated in the 1968 Deutschland Trophäe at Hockenheim, the same race in which Jim Clark was killed, and his best result that year was eighth place at Monza. He retired from driving in 1969 after two large accidents, stating he realised he was “not going to be World Champion”.
Following his retirement from driving, Mosley became involved with Robin Herd and others in establishing March Engineering, a racing car manufacturer. He handled the company’s legal and commercial matters, investing £2,500 of capital. March entered Formula One in 1970, initially fielding five cars, and achieved early success with Jackie Stewart winning the 1970 Spanish Grand Prix. Despite this, the team faced financial difficulties, and Mosley successfully negotiated sponsorship deals with Firestone and STP. He restructured driver contracts to save money and secured funding to continue operations. Although March continued to sell cars to customers in lower formulae, the team struggled financially, and Mosley left in 1977 to work full-time for the Formula One Constructors’ Association (FOCA).
From 1969, Mosley represented March at meetings of the Grand Prix Constructors’ Association. He worked closely with Bernie Ecclestone, and together they formed FOCA to represent the commercial interests of the Formula One teams. In 1978, Mosley became the official legal advisor to FOCA, and alongside Marco Piccinini negotiated the first version of the Concorde Agreement, resolving a dispute between FOCA and the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA).
In 1991, Mosley challenged Jean-Marie Balestre for the presidency of FISA, motorsport’s governing body. He campaigned on the basis that Balestre could not effectively manage his roles within the FIA and FISA, and won the election by 43 votes to 29. He resigned a year later, fulfilling a promise to seek a re-affirmation of his mandate, and was immediately re-elected. In 1993, he became president of the FIA, FISA’s parent body, following an agreement with Balestre.
As FIA President, Mosley focused on improving safety in motor racing following the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. The resulting changes included reducing the capacity and power of engines, the use of grooved tyres to reduce cornering speeds, and the introduction of the HANS device. He also promoted the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP). According to Sports Mole, Mosley’s work on Euro NCAP was a significant part of his legacy . He oversaw a period of commercial growth in Formula One, negotiating television rights and seeking to balance the interests of the teams, manufacturers, and the FIA. He served four terms as president, stepping down in 2009.
Mosley was involved in the creation of the FIA Foundation for the Automobile and Society, which was funded by the sale of Formula One commercial rights. He also held positions at Euro NCAP, Global NCAP, and ERTICO.
Mosley received several honours during his career, including the Grande Ufficiale dell' Ordine al Merito (Italy) in 1994, the Castrol Gold Medal in 2000, and the Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur (France) in 2006. He also received honorary doctorates from Northumbria University in 2005.
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