Max Mosley sought an extraordinary meeting of motor sport's world governing body on Thursday after four Formula One carmakers put pressure on him to resign as FIA president because of a sex scandal.

The International Automobile Federation (FIA) said in a statement at the Bahrain Grand Prix that Mosley had asked the FIA Senate President, Monaco's Michel Boeri, to call a general assembly.

"The full membership of the FIA will be invited to attend the meeting at which the widespread publicity following an apparently illegal invasion of the FIA President's privacy will be discussed," it said. That meeting is likely to be held in Paris, although it could take weeks to arrange since the FIA has 222 national motoring organisations in 130 countries and on five continents.

Mosley will be expecting a positive outcome after saying on Tuesday that he had received considerable support from within the FIA and motor sport "suggesting that my private life is not relevant to my work and that I should continue in my role".

Mosley's move came after British Sunday tabloid the News of the World detailed how the Briton had paid for sex with prostitutes in what was depicted as a Nazi-style orgy. The 67-year-old Briton, who has been FIA president since 1993 but draws no salary for the elected position, has said he will not stand down.

Mercedes, BMW, Honda and Toyota all issued statements on Thursday expressing concern.

"Toyota Motorsport does not approve of any behaviour which could be seen to damage Formula One's image, in particular any behaviour which could be understood to be racist or anti-Semitic," the Japanese carmaker said. "Senior figures within any sport or business, including motorsport, must adhere to high standards of behaviour. "When all the facts are known, it will be for the FIA to decide whether Mr Mosley has met the moral obligations which come with the position of FIA President."

Mosley, who has blamed a 'covert' operation against him and is taking legal action against the newspaper, apologised to all national FIA clubs and bodies on Tuesday but denied any "Nazi connotation" to the affair.

German manufacturers BMW and Mercedes, who partner McLaren, said the scandal could not be set aside as a purely personal matter however.

"This incident concerns Max Mosley both personally and as president of the FIA," they said in a joint statement. "Its consequences therefore extend far beyond the motor sport industry. We await a response from the relevant FIA bodies."

Mosley, in a statement to Reuters, issued a sharp reply. "Given the history of BMW and Mercedes Benz, particularly before and during the Second World War, I fully understand why they would wish to strongly distance themselves from what they rightly describe as the disgraceful content of these publications," he said. "Unfortunately, they did not contact me before putting out their statement to ask whether the content was in fact true."

While Ferrari and Renault made no comment, Ferrari's world champion Kimi Raikkonen -- no stranger to tabloid scrutiny in his native Finland -- offered a degree of support to Mosley.

"It's his personal life. For me, he can do whatever he wants and it's not really my business or anybody else's to put their nose in it," the Finn told reporters. Mosley, whose late father Oswald was the founder of the pre-war British Union of Fascists, had planned to be present at Sunday's race at Sakhir but will not now be attending.