Mosley talked in detail about how Formula One can aid the development of automotive technology, especially through the use of devices than can store and re-use energy from a race car.

Mosley said: “If you can put Formula One in a position where you can get an advantage by making a light, efficient, small device, then these devices will come. And it won’t be like at a major car manufacturer where someone will be given a two- or three-year research programme. It will be much more urgent than that because the whole world will see the effectiveness of that manufacturers’ device every other Sunday and that will change completely the rate of development. Competition is a fantastic stimulus.”

He revealed that the major car manufacturers applauded the move and had no hesitation in backing the inclusion of ecologically-focussed regulations in the sport. “We started talking to major manufacturers about energy recovery and re-use and got a very positive response, particularly from Professor Göschel, who is the Chairman of the Grand Prix Manufacturers Association.”

These regulations have now been rubber stamped for introduction to Formula One over the next few years. It means that the sport will be at the forefront of major technological developments in the automotive industry.

Mosley added: “If you can recover some of the heat from the cooling system and use it to propel the car and likewise the exhaust system, that would obviously be very useful, indeed core research for the car industry and would at the same time give the people in Formula One something to work on. So we are looking at that very carefully at the moment.”

It is a chance for the championship to go beyond entertainment and offer numerous other external benefits to society. It will become a learning ground for engineers so their work on the cars will be of use when they leave the sport and it will also become a platform to raise awareness about environmental issues such as the need to limit the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

As Mosley put it: “It’s a wonderful opportunity for the manufacturers to motivate their young engineers and accelerate the development of these green technologies. In that way Formula One is going to make a huge contribution to the whole debate about carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, fuel efficiency and so on. Not only because it will develop this technology but because it will put this technology squarely in front of a worldwide audience.”

The FIA President went on to talk about the long-term future of technology in the sport and plans for a new type of engine after the four-year freeze on development.

He said: “The engine freeze stays for 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011, so what do we do in 2012? The current plan is to have a new engine and decide quickly the format this new engine will take. Already there is broad agreement that it is likely to be downsized, turbo-charged, direct-injection but still running at the speeds we expect of a Formula One engine.”

And finally he offered his own opinion as to what could be done to further improve the racing. The FIA-AMD Formula One Survey demonstrated that the creation of more overtaking is the single biggest factor that fans believe could improve the spectacle. Mosley agreed but said that how this is achieved will be of most importance.

He said: “The key, in my opinion, is that you need two things to improve the show. You need relative ease of overtaking. But you need the car behind to be faster than the car in front by virtue of being behind. In the 1960s the car behind would get in the slipstream of the car in front and there was no aerodynamic disadvantage. Today, it is the opposite. The car behind is slower than the car in front because it is behind. But with the resources we now have it would be possible to arrange for the car behind to be faster.”

To listen to the full keynote address click here.