Mosley meets F1 teams for 11th hour talks


Formula One's governing body met teams on Thursday to try and reach an 11th hour deal before publication of a 2010 entry list that could secure a stable future for the sport or split it in two.

An International Automobile Federation (FIA) spokesman declined to comment on the meeting, which lasted more than four hours, with the Ferrari-led Formula One Teams Association (FOTA).

The FOTA teams, reduced to eight after Force India and Williams were suspended, have submitted entries conditional on the 2010 rules being rewritten and a new commercial agreement signed by Friday, when the list is published.

Mosley, who wants to bring in new teams to help the sport overcome the credit crunch and the possible departure of some of the manufacturers, has said that is not possible in the time-frame.

The 2010 rules have put forward an optional 40 million-pound ($65.62 million) budget cap, with those accepting it given greater technical freedom.

Ferrari, former champions Renault, Toyota and the two Red Bull teams oppose the budget cap and any two-tier system.

The FIA is likely to include Ferrari and the two Red Bull teams on the list anyway, arguing that they have pre-existing contracts, while Williams and tail-enders Force India have entered unconditionally.

At least 10 would-be new teams have applied for at least three available slots, including Kuwaiti-backed Prodrive, Lola and some others reviving familiar names from the past such as Brabham and Lotus.

RIVAL SERIES

FOTA have said they would consider a rival series only as a last resort but has not said what it will do if the published list omits teams like Lewis Hamilton's McLaren, championship-leaders Brawn and BMW-Sauber.

Some sources have suggested a compromise could be for the FIA to leave some of the slots empty, pending further talks and subject to a late payment fee.

"If 10 (non-FOTA) teams are given an entry, there's a major problem," said Brawn owner Ross Brawn. "So I hope, even if it’s a holding position until we can sort this out, that there's a solution."

The standoff, which is also about the governance of the sport and distribution of revenues, has been going on for weeks with Mosley last meeting the teams during the Monaco Grand Prix in May.

The Briton wrote to Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, who also chairs FOTA, after that meeting however to offer a number of compromises.

In the May 26 letter, seen by Reuters, he said there must be a budget cap but it could be as high as 100 million euros in 2010 before going down to 45 million in 2011.

"We can agree that all teams race under the same 2010 rules," he added. "These would be as published, but with the technical and sporting advantages originally offered to cost-cap teams deleted."

To help new teams, the transfer of know-how from existing teams would be facilitated in 2010 and possibly 2011. One employee, as well as the drivers, would remain outside any budget cap from 2011.

That measure would help teams who have highly-paid designers, such as Red Bull's Adrian Newey.

Mosley said the FIA was also prepared to negotiate a new Concorde Agreement along the lines of a draft sent by the teams, and would be happy to call the cost cap "financial regulations" if that was more palatable.