Damon Hill has criticised former FIA president Max Mosley, claiming he employed his intelligence “in the service of hatred and division”. Hill’s comments came in response to a birthday tribute to Mosley, marking what would have been his 86th birthday.
The criticism followed a social media post from Matt Bishop, former McLaren and Aston Martin F1 communications boss, who described Mosley as “scarily intelligent.”
Hill’s Rebuttal to Bishop’s Post
Hill, the 1996 world champion, responded to Bishop’s post, saying: “Don’t be fooled just because he could be ‘funny’. It was always at someone else’s expense.”
Hill added: “I’m not sure intelligence can be called that if it is employed in the service of hatred and division.”
Bishop’s original post stated that Mosley was a “fascinating man, although he could be hard and even cruel.”
Mosley’s Polarising Tenure as FIA President
Mosley, who died by suicide in May 2021 at the age of 81 after a terminal cancer diagnosis, served as FIA president from 1993 to 2009. During his time in office, Mosley was a polarising figure.
Mosley was credited with improving safety in Formula 1 following the deaths of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna in 1994. Senna was Hill’s Williams teammate at the time of his death.
Before entering motorsport politics, Mosley worked as a barrister and helped found the March Engineering team. He considered promoting road safety and introducing green technology into F1 as his greatest achievements during his 16 years with the FIA.
Hill’s Previous Criticism of Mosley
Hill has admitted his view of Mosley “might be slightly jaded” because he disagreed with Mosley’s decisions during his time as FIA president.
The 1996 world champion was outspoken about the FIA’s handling of the ‘Spygate’ scandal in 2007. McLaren was fined a record $100million after an employee was found to have confidential Ferrari technical documents.
According to a biography of Bernie Ecclestone, Mosley seemed to indicate that his personal animosity towards Ron Dennis, the then-McLaren team principal, contributed to the FIA’s decision to impose the record fine. Mosley was quoted as saying of McLaren’s punishment: “$5million for the offence and $95million for Ron being a t**t.”
Hill also called for Mosley to consider his position following revelations about his private life in 2008.
Mosley was later awarded £60,000 in damages following a High Co case.
Hill’s entire Formula 1 career coincided with Mosley’s time in office.