Stability is a relative concept in F1

Controversy and intrigue go hand in hand with Formula One and Max Mosley's exit will not end that, even if the sport can hope for a less turbulent future.

Mosley, who will stand down as president of the governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) in October while relinquishing immediately his day to day involvement in Formula One, has said he can depart knowing that the sport is set for peace and stability.

While the teams and the FIA have put behind them the most serious crisis in the championship's 60-year existence with a breakthrough agreement on Wednesday, peace is a relative concept. There will always be flare-ups and arguments, even without the damaging bickering of recent weeks which threatened to alienate so many fans.

Mosley's promised exit will bring down the curtain on the "Max and Bernie Show", a long-running double act with Formula One's commercial supremo and fellow Briton Bernie Ecclestone which has been behind much of the paddock friction. However, in a sport as competitive and fast-moving as Formula One, it is only a matter of time before the next dispute comes along even if the technical rules remain stable until 2013 and the governance is more consensual. Ecclestone, with no designated successor, will be 79 this year and the current teams have still to sign a long-term commercial agreement with him. Mosley's heir has also yet to be found.

There are some considerable egos around, on and off the track, as well as intense rivalries.

"The sport itself is intrinsically controversial, unstable, political," said one senior team source, recalling the days before Mosley when Jean-Marie Balestre ruled the FIA. "I think it is the nature of Formula One that creates this situation."

The unity of the teams has been critical in securing what they wanted off the racetrack and that may not be so apparent once a new commercial agreement is signed. In the short term, the FIA Senate will oversee Formula One under the leadership of Monaco's Michel Boeri but Mosley will remain a member of that body with considerable influence. It will not be a case of Boeri running the show. Former Ferrari team boss Jean Todt, no stranger to controversy at the Italian team, is the name most often heard as Mosley's most likely replacement.

There are some, even now, unwilling to believe Mosley will not somehow manage a comeback.

"Only when I see the stake through his heart," the Times newspaper quoted one team principal as saying after Wednesday's announcement.

By ending the immediate threat of a rival series, both sides have broken a logjam and paved the way to a new, leaner future for the sport as well as one that hopes to give the fans a better show. Mosley and the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) have agreed to reduce costs within two years to the levels of the early 1990s, when a team like Benetton could win a championship on around $50 million a year. That will mean heavy job cuts, or at least a relocation of staff where the teams are owned by manufacturers, as well as making the sport financially viable.

"Now everyone can look forward to a bright future where they can make good profits," said Mosley on Wednesday.

With a rival series being threatened, some teams had complained that the uncertainty had put sponsorship deals on hold or into jeopardy.

"Nobody is able to progress on the commercial front today because of the uncertainty," Ross Brawn, whose championship-leading team still lack a title sponsor, said recently.

The driver merry-go-round, usually a source of steady speculation at this time of year, has also been stalled until now with nobody able to commit until they knew who was racing where and under what rules.

Williams and Force India are likely to rejoin FOTA, having been temporarily suspended after signing up unconditionally with the FIA, while the three new teams can reassure potential sponsors that they will be competing against the likes of McLaren and Ferrari.