Mosley sex scandal 'won't hurt' F1

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Motor sport boss Max Mosley's alleged role in a sado-masochistic orgy with five prostitutes will have no impact on Formula One's financial success or its popularity, according to brand experts.

They believe sponsors will keep their money in the sport and that fans are more interested in the racing.

Mosley is fighting to keep his position after the UK's News of the World published an expose about his sex life, alleging he took part in an orgy with Nazi overtones.

The 67-year-old Mosley has rejected numerous calls to step down (including from constructors), writing a letter to FIA officials saying he was embarrassed by what the newspaper reported but said there was no "Nazi connotation to the matter."

He is suing for violation of privacy and faces a FIA vote of confidence in Paris on June 3.

Pippa Collett, Sponsorship Consulting's managing director, said that the media furor was not necessarily a bad thing for the sport.

"There is a well known phrase that all publicity is good publicity and the same holds true in this case.

"He [Mosley] wrote to the FIA and was very open and demonstrated a level of professionalism. You can't fault him for that."

She said when someone was the leader of a public organization the question was always when did your private life impact on your public?

"I'm sure that they [sponsors] will be reviewing their investment in the light of the alleged activity. The crunch will come at the June 3 meeting... they [sponsors] won't pull funding in the long term.

"I think it has the potential to be a nine-day wonder if the FIA deal with it efficiently in June. Then it can be written off as a learning experience."

Stephen Cheliotis, chief executive of the Centre for Brand Analysis and UK Superbrands and CoolBrands Councils' chairman, said he did not "believe for a minute that all publicity is good publicity.

"The question here is whether Max Mosley and the Formula One brand are intrinsically linked; Max Mosley isn't Formula One."

Cheliotis said Mosley was not as important as the racing. The sport's ongoing success was much more linked to having competitive, exciting racing.

However, the danger in the Mosley case was that some brands did not want to be linked in any way with his actions.

Cheliotis said because Formula One was a complicated sport with many different sectors -- the racing, drivers, constructors, sponsors, motor sport bodies -- it was hard for any one event to impact on the overall brand too much.

"What Max Mosley does as head of the FIA is totally, utterly different from the sport... the public can differentiate."

Cheliotis used the example of Rebecca Loos saying she had an affair with England footballer David Beckham.

"You're not going to stop supporting Manchester United and Real Madrid because of it."

He said there was "a little too much panic" going on -- though he could understand why -- and consumers were not likely to stop buying BMWs because of Mosley's situation. E-mail to a friend

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