FIA to review how F1 is governed

Following a meeting of the FIA's World Motor Sport Council in Paris on Wednesday, a statement was issued confirming that F1 teams were to be consulted on changes to the future direction of F1.

"The FIA will enter into a wide-ranging consultation with the Formula One teams to examine plans for improved efficiency, including new technical regulations for the Championship. This will also involve a review of the governance of Formula One," said the statement.

The latter sentence is understood to be a reference to the ongoing dispute between FIA president Max Mosley and commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone over future control of the sport.

And the FIA's bid to increase its influence was further emphasised when it announced plans to create a Formula Two championship from the start of 2009 - something that would be in direct competition to the Ecclestone-supported GP2 Series.

"The FIA will invite tenders for a new feeder series for Formula One," the governing body said.

"This championship, called Formula Two, would be launched in 2009 and used as an inexpensive platform to develop emerging driver talent for Formula One. It is hoped this can be achieved within a budget of around €200,000 a car per season."

As autosport.com reported earlier this week, the FIA also discussed the possibility of raising the entry fees in F1 to cover equipment and services it provides.

However, it was decided that a possible 150 percent rise in fees would only be introduced after consultation with the teams. The entry fee for next year will therefore be 309,000 euro - a rise in this year's fee only to cover inflation.

The FIA also confirmed that applications for entries for the 2009 championship will be open from July 1 to 31.