#27 - F1 has become a showcase for some of the premier car companies in the world who spend millions trying to show their technology is the best. Toyota reportedly spends over half a billion each year on their effort. You'd best believe that there are expectations of high morals and ethics in that environment, nobody wants their effort reflected upon that badly.

Whether that's a worthy motivation is something for another discussion entirely, but I can assure you, the playboy attitude that used to dominate grand prix racing is long, long gone.

Well, at least there's one post about Formula 1 on BoingBoing...I've been reading for a long time, and given the tech heavy side of the sport, I would have expected more.

At any rate, this has become a big issue in the sport since Formula 1 is one of those sports that's very worldwide in nature. You have drivers from many countries, race in 17 or 18 countries each year, and for the president of the FIA to be caught in something as racially charged as this, it becomes a big issue. Recently, there were problems in Spain with Spanish fans shouting racial slurs at Lewis Hamilton, an extremely successful rookie who also happens to be the first black driver in the sport, during testing at Jerez. The FIA has embarked on a big anti-racism campaign in reaction, and this does not help their position any.

Beyond that, at the most recent race in Bahrain, the crown prince told Mosley that he was not welcome in their country for the event, meaning the president of the governing body could not attend one of the events of their top-tier sport. It certainly didn't help that he reportedly called the head of Formula One Management, Bernie Ecclestone, and shouted an abusive tirade against the crown prince and the country itself, all while said prince sat next to Bernie and overheard the entire conversation.

It's been good times for us F1 fans. I have to admit, I'd love to see Mosley ousted, but mostly for his ridiculous rule changes and the way he's nearly driven what makes the sport great out of things. The rules about regenerative braking: good, the rules about engine development freezes? Bad.