The time an orgy took all of F1's attention
You probably never imagined seeing a relation between motorsports and an orgy, but here we are, thanks to Max Mosley.
This is the story of how a former FIA president faced a scandal over a 5-hour-long viral video of him taking part in an orgy with 5 sexual workers (from now on, hookers), with, apparently, and to make things worse, a Nazi theme to it.
The man
Max Mosley, born to Sir Oswald Mosley (a politician and fascist) in 1940, was a British racing driver and Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) president from 1993 to 2009 in the span of four terms.
He founded a Formula 1 team named March Engineering, which participated in 207 races, achieving two victories, two pole positions, and four fastest laps. The organization was also a manufacturer, providing chassis to teams like Tyrrell, Hesketh Racing, Williams, and others.
During his FIA presidency, Mosley was praised for promoting road safety and pushing for the implementation of the "European New Car Assessment Programme" (Euro NCAP), which he said was his most important achievement.
Mosley passed away on May 23, 2021. He committed suicide following the diagnosis of a terminal, debilitating lymphoma.
F1 Boss has sick Nazi orgy with 5 hookers
No, we're not the ones making that title. It's the front page of News of the World, a now-defunct British newspaper that had reported Mosley's involvement in an alleged Nazi-themed orgy with five hookers.
If you are new to Formula 1, you probably didn't know this story, but it was a hell of a scandal back in the day.
The newspaper had access to a long video that showed, in detail, the orgy that Mosley had planned with five hookers at a 4-million-euro apartment. German was spoken in parts of the video, which prompted News of the World to call it a "Nazi" themed orgy, apart from one of the girls wearing a military uniform, with another wearing a prisoner one.
But that's not all. The newspaper made the video available to the public, and it was picked up by a lot of media outlets at the time. In a matter of days, the whole of the UK was talking about the sick night Mosley had had.
Fighting back
Mosley sued News of the World for invasion of privacy. He said he maintained sexual relations but without a Nazi theme. He called the scenario just "some good, clean fun in someone's basement," as quoted by Jalopnik. In court, he admitted to a 45-year history of sadomasochism.
He won the suit, and the newspaper had to pay him $120,000 in damages. The judge also ordered the organization to cover the legal costs, going up to 1.7 million.
However, the story didn't end there. Mosley expressed his concern for privacy laws and argued that journalists should be required to give two days of notice before printing a story about the misbehavior of a public figure, subject to the approval of a judge. He was met with strong opposition from the media and press organizations, who said that such measures would damage press freedom and investigative journalism.