FORMULA ONE boss Max Mosley has been at the top of the sport for 25 years. Motor racing has helped the charismatic 68-year-old escape a chequered and high-profile family history.
But the News of the World'sallegations provided a bizarre twist to his parental legacy. Mosley is the son of Sir Oswald Mosley, the wartime leader of the British Union of Fascists.
His mother, Diana Mitford, one of six famous society sisters, was an admirer of Adolf Hitler. When she became Sir Oswald's second wife in 1936, the service took place at the German home of Joseph Goebbels, with Hitler as guest of honour.
Just 2-and-a-half months after Mosley's birth, Diana, described as one of the great beauties of her generation, was arrested under wartime regulations. She was held during the war in Holloway prison as a Nazi sympathiser.
Mosley's relentless drive and charm could have paved the way for a career in politics and, in his younger years, he flirted with the idea. But he has said it was made impossible by the Mosley name.
Giving evidence in his breach of privacy action, Mosley explained how Nazi associations continued to hang over him. He told the high court in London: "All my life, I have had hanging over me my antecedents, my parents, and the last thing I want to do in some sexual context is be reminded of it.
"I wouldn't consider my parents to be Nazi but there is obviously a link."
Mosley has been married for 48 years and has two sons. But revelations that he engaged in sadomasochistic role play for 45 of those years has undermined his image as a family man. He told the court his wife, Jean, and his two sons, Alexander (38) and Patrick (36), were devastated. But he added: "For myself, I'm a fairly robust person. At times in my life I have been subject to various attacks so I can deal with it."
Following the allegations, Mosley apologised to the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), of which he is president, for any embarrassment. And he abandoned plans to attend the Bahrain Grand Prix after the crown prince advised him against it. But a secret ballot on June 3rd gave Mosley a vote of confidence, and he overcame widespread calls for his resignation.
Mosley spent his childhood in Ireland before being sent to schools in France and Germany. He won a place at Christ Church College, Oxford, where he became secretary of the Oxford Union and graduated with a degree in physics in 1961.
Mosley was called to the bar in 1964 but his future lay elsewhere. After a trip to Silverstone, he became involved in motorsport, racing in club events before graduating to Formula Two.
- (PA)