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Formula One dances to a different tune
Last week, International Automobile Federation (FIA) president Max Mosley was portrayed in some quarters as Formula One's most hated man -- dictatorial, high-handed and at odds with teams, drivers and manufacturers.
In the aftermath of last month's U.S. Grand Prix tyre fiasco, there was talk of race boycotts and of the manufacturers possibly speeding up their plans for a rival series, being threatened from 2008. A full-blown crisis was averted when the FIA stepped back from imposing immediate sanctions on the seven Michelin teams, all of whom had failed to race at Indianapolis because of concern about the safety of their tyres. However, Minardi boss Paul Stoddart still called for Mosley's head and a rumour went around, later denied, that the teams had decided to put up their own candidate to try and unseat the Briton in the FIA's presidential election in October. "If F1 is to survive and thrive, it has to be without Mosley," Stoddart had said. DIFFERENT PICTURE Since Silverstone, a different picture has emerged. Renault's Flavio Briatore, in an interview with Germany's Welt am Sonntag that was then published on the team website and e-mailed to reporters, praised Mosley and poured cold water on suggestions of a future split. "Max Mosley has done a very good job in recent years,"
declared Briatore.
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