Max Mosley insists that FOTA did not push him out of his role as President in the sport’s governing body because he had always planned to step down this year anyway.

While teams and fans may like to think that his departure from the FIA was a result of the recent political backbiting, Mosley was quick to assure the public that this was definitely not the case...

“I told senior people that I was not going to seek re-election in October a few months ago,” he was quoted as saying in the Express. “I was not going to be pushed out and I wasn’t. I wanted to ensure that I left having helped put F1 on a firm footing for the future and that is what has happened.”

This result is actually a complete turnaround from Mosley’s adamant stance over the course of the British grand Prix weekend where he informed FOTA in no uncertain terms that he would be sitting for another term in office in order to ensure the future of Formula One was protected. He now admits that even though the threat was issued, he didn’t really want to go through with it....

“I don’t know how much that alarmed them,” he said. “I would have been unhappy to have stayed but there were things I wanted for the good of F1. I had to protect the sport and I’m satisfied this has been achieved. Now everyone can now look forward to a bright future where they can make good profits. That will please the manufacturers, who have all pledged to stay until at least 2012. That offers the stability I wanted. I was looking for new teams in Formula One and that has been done. It was ridiculous we had two empty spots on the grid and no one wanted them. When we announced cost reduction, we had a rush of teams wanting to be in the sport.”

While the budget cap has been scrapped, costs will be reduced over the course of the next few seasons and a new Concorde Agreement will be signed, much to the pleasure of FOM boss, Bernie Ecclestone. .

“We are back to normal and the future looks good for everyone again,” Ecclestone said. “No winners, just a good compromise.”