Vatanen will challenge Mosley for FIA presidency

LONDON — Former World Rally champion Ari Vatanen launched his campaign for the presidency of Formula One’s governing body on Friday still believing incumbent Max Mosley may seek a fifth term.

Despite speaking to Mosley before confirming his FIA candidacy, Vatanen is no clearer about whether the 69-year-old Briton will stand for another term.

Mosley announced last month that he would not contest the October election, but has signaled he may reverse that decision as the feud with eight leading teams over 2010 rules continues to simmer.

“Maybe Max is still standing, it’s not been excluded at all,” Vatanen told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. “There’s not (been) a decision.”

The Formula One Teams Association renewed its threat to create a new series after walking out of a meeting with the FIA on Wednesday.

“That is a very real threat — if the breakaway series would materialize it would be the end of FIA as we know it,” said the 57-year-old Vatanen, a four-time winner of the Paris-Dakar Rally. “We mustn’t continue down this line because collective damage is too great.”

FOTA, including Ferrari and McLaren, were told their entry into the 2010 FIA championship is yet to be confirmed and they would have no say on cost-cutting measures. Vatanen hopes to restore unity to F1 and said “modest conciliation is much better than a big row.”

The dispute centers on ensuring the sport’s financial sustainability. Mosley had to drop plans for a voluntary $65 million budget cap to prevent a FOTA split, but the rival groups are still at loggerheads over the comprise to reduce costs to 1990s levels.

“There has been far too much time on the battle ground instead of being on the common ground,” Vatanen said. “There are far too many quarrels for secondary reasons.”

The Finn has yet to announce any concrete policies but believes the time for change has come to motor sport.

“Any federation, any society regardless how good the previous leaders are, they need a new leader and it is to renew people’s faith within the organization,” he said. “This is not my ego trip … I’m not going to run a dirty campaign. I want to run a unifying, reconciling campaign.”