Australian Grand Prix Corporation chairman Ron Walker has praised Max Mosley's decision to step aside from his presidency of the FIA, saying it was for the benefit of the future of the sport.
Mosley will not stand for re-election to the presidency in October following a meeting between F1 teams and the FIA on Wednesday in Paris which managed to negotiate a settlement in a dispute which threatened to tear Formula One apart.
Mosley had pursued a cost-cutting agenda and wanted to introduce a 40 million pound (AU$82 million) budget for teams next year, a move which prompted eight of the leading teams to threaten a breakaway series. But with that issue resolved in the teams' favour, Mosley had little option but to step aside at the end of the season.
Walker said that Mosley had lost touch with the teams, the manufacturers and the fans and it was the right time for him to move on.
"It's very clear to me that if Max hadn't have resigned, they would have gone their own way. He became too dictatorial and imperious over the last few years and he was telling the auto manufacturers what to do," he said.
"You can stay too long in a job. The person that will come in, will possibly be Jean Todt from Ferrari. I don't know that for sure. Whoever comes in will come in with a fresh broom and that can only be a good thing for Formula One."
Walker said that he always had confidence that the issue would be resolved and that the cost-cutting measures would not be implemented.
"I never believed it would happen, I've seen it happen over the past 20 years, where the FIA tried to knobble the auto manufacturers. The reasons the auto manufacturers go into Formula One is to develop new parts for the passenger car. If they weren't allowed to spend this money, they would have given Formula One away," he said.
"I felt that private enterprise being what it is, people can spend what they like. But Mr Mosley debated that the smaller team couldn't raise the money. I'm very happy about the decision, but there was no doubt in my mind that this would be resolved one way or another."
With the future of Formula One, and the Melbourne Grand Prix, now assured in the medium term, Walker said the sport could move forward with real purpose.
"I think there will be less tension in pit lane now. There will be proper business discussions between the sponsors, the advertisers and of course the auto manufacturers which are terribly important to Formula One," he said.
"Formula One is show business, purely and simple. They've had some good actresses and actors over the years. It feeds off the glamour, the excitement and of course the intrigue."