Motor racing - Porsche say Mosley scandal makes F1 unattractive

Car makers Porsche and Volkswagen have ruled out entering Formula One, saying high costs and a sex scandal involving motorsport chief Max Mosley made the sport unattractive to them.

"300 million euros a year - that is just burning money," Volkswagen chairman Ferdinand Piech told German news magazine Stern.

"And after the affair with Max Mosley and the women it would not be very savoury to get involved (in Formula One) now," added his Porsche counterpart Wolfgang Porsche. Porsche are in the process of acquiring a majority shareholding in Volkswagen and both German companies have been seen as potential Formula One entrants in the past.

Photographs and a video of Mosley involved in what British Sunday newspaper News of the World described as a Nazi-style orgy with prostitutes have led to strong criticism of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) boss, particularly in Germany.

German Formula One car makers BMW and Mercedes, which owns 40 percent of McLaren, issued a joint statement this month questioning the 68-year-old Englishman's future at the helm of the sport's governing body.

Mosley has denied any Nazi connotations and is claiming unlimited damages against the News of the World. He has resisted calls to resign. The Briton has also filed legal action in Paris to prevent the News of the World video being accessed from France via the Internet.

Judicial sources said that a ruling was expected on April 29 after the French judge considered the request.