Ecclestone warns Ferrari of legal action

Ahead of crunch talks between teams and FIA president Max Mosley in Monaco today, Ecclestone has upped the ante by suggesting that Ferrari would be in breach of contract if it did not enter F1 in 2010.

It comes after a French court ruled this week that agreements in place between Ferrari, Ecclestone and the FIA, which locked the team into F1 until 2012, were valid.

Ecclestone told The Times newspaper that he was in no doubt that Ferrari had a commitment to be in F1.

"We would always respect our contracts," Ecclestone said. "And all the teams that have signed contracts with us would expect us to respect them, and we would expect the same from Ferrari. They are saying they are going to walk, we are saying we hope they respect their contract."

There are also suggestions that Ecclestone has written to Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo telling him that television rights money paid to the team, believed to be worth hundreds of millions of pounds, may have to be returned if the team breaks its contract.

F1 teams are set to meet on Renault boss Flavio Briatore's yacht in Monaco on Friday afternoon to talk about their response to Mosley's refusal to compromise on plans on a £40 million voluntary budget cap. A meeting with the FIA president is set for later in the day.