In one corner is Mosley's chosen successor, former Ferrari boss Jean Todt, who is seen as the status quo candidate, while in the other is independent candidate Ari Vatanen, a former world rally champion, who looks to have reform on his mind.
Unfortunately, the presidential campaign may be remembered for its infighting, impropriety and the inappropriateness of FIA officials' actions. And it points to a desperate need for new blood at the top of the FIA, which governs Formula One and several other racing championships, including world touring cars and world rally.
The funny business began with Mosley's endorsement of Todt even before the former Ferrari man announced his candidacy, effectively stacking the deck against anyone considering a run at the office. Early in the campaign, Todt travelled to several countries in his role as president of eSafety Aware, which is funded by the FIA Foundation, creating the appearance that the governing body's funds may be helping him garner voter support.
If that weren't enough, members of Mosley's inner circle soon began working for Todt's campaign. And there was a letter Mosley sent to Vatanen adviser and member of Jordan's royal family, Prince Faisal, that seemed to contain a veiled threat.
"Any thoughts that after this election everyone in motorsport can unite and work together can now be forgotten," Mosley wrote in response to Vatanen's suggestion that the FIA was an autocracy. "It is not possible to make statements like Vatanen's and then expect the victims of those insults to forget what has been said."
There's no doubt that three-time F1 champion Jackie Stewart was never Mosley's biggest supporter. He feels the FIA should hire a professional chief executive to run the show, rather than have a volunteer elected head. Last week, the Scotsman renewed his call for major change in governance of the sport.
And at the top of his list was the way the FIA president was handling the upcoming election.
"Jean Todt is being supported very heavily by the current president Max Mosley and by [F1 commercial boss] Bernie Ecclestone. I think it's wrong for them to do that," he told BBC Radio.
"They should be sitting on their hands and not voting for anybody because perception is many times 9/10ths of the law."
Stewart was also asked to run for the presidency in what was thought to be an attempt by Todt supporters to split the opposing vote. The Scotsman refused.
BBC shows
its bias
Yes, the TSN feed for Formula One comes from the British Broadcasting Corp., but their fawning over countryman Jenson Button in last weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix was too much to take.
Button is world champion, but he essentially backed into the title with a completely lacklustre performance in the second half of the season.
Let's face it, the only reason Button took the crown is because the FIA screwed up in its rule-making. A loophole in the regulations allowed the Brawn team, along with Toyota and Williams, to use a double diffuser that probably should have been banned when the case came before an FIA appeal court early in the season.
This argument has credence since Red Bull showed a similar system to the FIA prior to the season and was told it was illegal. But in a skillfully worded decision, the appeals court used a loophole of its own to discount this fact by suggesting that Red Bull went to the wrong technical group at the governing body to ask for an opinion.
In the end, Brawn and Button's run of success continued until June when the other teams developed their own double diffusers. And since his win that month in the Turkish Grand Prix, Button managed only one podium finish in nine races - a second in Italy - after starting the season with six wins in seven starts due to the diffuser advantage.
Now, it doesn't really matter when a champion scores the points he needs to win the title. And, thanks to the disputed diffuser, Button built up a significant cushion in the early going to hold off his challengers as the season wound down.
But for the BBC announcers to characterize his race in Sao Paulo as a cool drive worthy of a champion was a bit rich.
In Brazil, a first-lap crash and an aggressive move by eventual winner Mark Webber of Red Bull that knocked the front wing from Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari helped to eliminate four cars ahead of Button.
That carnage put the Brawn driver in a position to secure the title after a disappointing qualifying performance saw him start 14th. Without those incidents, it is doubtful Button would have clinched the championship and the title fight would have gone to the final race in Abu Dhabi.
That made the BBC announcers' continued praise of Button become increasingly sickening as the race wore on.
globeauto@globeandmail.com
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