Max Mosley death: what happened to former F1 boss, who is wife Jean Mosley, and did they have children?

Nearly a year after the announcement of his death, a coroner has concluded that Max Mosley - the former boss of Formula 1’s governing body Federation Internationale du Automobile - committed suicide.

Mosley had learnt that his cancer was terminal and shortly after took the decision to take his own life, the coroner’s report reads. The 81-year-old died in May 2021 in his London home having been in debilitating pain.

The court heard on Tuesday 29 March 2022 that Mosley had developed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma which affects immune cells. It was then also said that the doctors had exhausted all treatment options and Mr Mosley was said to have a ‘very limited life expectancy’.

Dr Wilcox, the inquest’s coroner said: “I am entirely satisfied Mr Mosley would not have taken this action but for the distressing and debilitating terminal lymphoma.”

Who was Max Mosley?

Mr Mosley was the son of Diana Mitford and former leader of the British Union of Fascists, Oswald Mosley and was born in 1940.

Mosley first trained as a lawyer and qualified as a barrister in 1964.

It was not until his wife, Jean Taylor whom he married in 1960, bought him tickets for Silverstone that Mosley’s first interest in racing began.

After qualifying as a barrister, he began to work to save enough money to start racing himself.

In 1969 he decided that ‘it was evident that I wasn’t going to be World Champion’ so he founded and co-owned March Engineering, a racing car constructor and Formula One racing team.

Mosley dealt with legal and commercial matters for the company and soon became its representative at the Formula One Constructors’ Association.

In 1978, the former driver became the official legal adviser to FOCA and he, along with Marco Piccinini, negotiated the first Concorde Agreement.

This settled a long-term dispute between the FOCA and Federation Internationale du Sport Automobile.

Moseley was elected president of FISA in 1991 and then became president of the FIA in 1993. This was a position he kept until October 2009.

What did Mosley do as FIA President?

The main achievements Mosley spoke of regarding his role as FIA president was the promotion of road safety and he wished to improve the green technology in Formula 1.

He has received great credit over the years for his improvement of Motorsport safety - a feat that was even more crucial following the death of Ayrton Senna in 1994.

During his final term as FIA President, the News of the World released video footage of Mosley in compromising situations that severely damaged his role as FIA president.

At the beginning of 2008, Moseley wanted to see through reforms such as budget capping and new technologies but when the time came for the next term, Mosley stepped down and endorsed former Ferrari Executive Director Jean Todt as his successor.

Budget caps have now become a part of the new 2022 regulations in Formula 1 and have allowed for closer racing and more parity between 10 franchises in the sport.

Who was Max Mosley’s family?

Mosley met his wife at a party he organised in order to attract ‘normal young people’ to the far-right Union Movement. Despite the obvious connection with his father’s politics, after the death of Sir Oswald Mosley, Max reflected that: “I was born into this rather strange family and then at a certain point you get away from that.”

Mosley and Jean married in 1960 at the Chelsea Register Office and went on to have two children. Jean Taylor was the daughter of James Taylor, a policeman.

In 1970, Taylor gave birth to their first son, Alexander, and their second son, Patrick, was born in 1972.

In 2009, Alexander, who had become a restaurateur, was found dead in his home. An inquest later said that the 39-year-old died due to ‘non-dependent drug abuse’.

When did Max Mosley die?

Bernie Ecclestone, former Formula 1 boss, confirmed the news on 23 May 2021 that Mosley had died.

The inquest into his death confirmed that Mosley had died of gunshot wounds.