Mosley plays down Hamilton effect
The British rookie and 2007 championship runner-up burst onto the scene this year and stirred widespread praise and adulation, but Max Mosley thinks "there is a tendency to exaggerate" the importance of the new star.
"There is always somebody new," he told the BBC's Hardtalk programme.
"If it wasn't him it would be either Rosberg or Kubica or one of the other new stars, a Vettel, would suddenly be the big one. So I think there is a tendency to exaggerate the importance of Lewis Hamilton."
Mosley also questioned the perceived innocence of the McLaren newcomer by wondering if he, like the team's other drivers, also knew about the 780-page Ferrari dossier that sparked the spy saga.
"He's not a known quantity to me.
"It would be surprising if he didn't know something of what was going on, but I've got absolutely no evidence that he had," Mosley added.
The FIA president said it is possible that the Court of Appeal next month will exclude a trio of cars and promote Hamilton above Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen for the drivers' championship.
Mosley said the Court "consists of very senior lawyers who are not connected with any of the countries involved in the events, so not Britain, not Italy and so on. It's an independent court. It can decide.
"That said, it's very unlikely, because even if they excluded those cars they are not obliged to reclassify Hamilton. There's absolutely no need, if they don't wish to, to change the position that Hamilton was in."
Also pending is the examination of McLaren's 2008 car, which Mosley suspects may include "ideas" originating from the 780-page Ferrari dossier.
"That (dossier) was in the hands of the chief designer at precisely the moment he was designing the 2008 McLaren," he said, revealing that "outside experts" will be brought in to assist with the inspections.
"The difficulty we have is that you're not going to find on the McLaren a part that was designed by Ferrari.
"So we will be looking for the ideas," Mosley added.
He said McLaren would not necessarily be kicked out of the championship if the car was found to be in breach.
"It would be more likely that they would be given a negative point allocation," Mosley concluded.