Haug: No need for manufacturers' title

Such a thing is understood to have been tabled for discussion by FIA president Max Mosley as a way of encouraging some strategic alliances in F1 between the major manufacturer teams and those struggling for survival at the back of the field. The idea, possibly combined with a new rule allowing front-running teams to sell chassis to the minnows, could produce a much stronger overall grid.

Haug said: "My personal feeling is that we don't need more championships. A drivers' championship - fine. A constructors' championship - also fine. But engine manufacturers do well enough through their association with a constructor and I don't see the need for a separate championship.

"Even if you supplied a second team, I don't think you would necessarily score any more points. And if you think it through, one team would be likely to have all three championships. I don't think it's the way forward."

One insider, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "Hypothetically speaking, let's say that somebody could persuade Ron Dennis to sell him a McLaren at the end of the season, and he persuaded BMW to sell him an engine. They'd make a bloody nuisance of themselves..."