Di Montezemolo: F1 Future to be Decided in 2005

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo says the future of Formula One will be decided next year and that manufacturers could walk away if they are unhappy with any deal.

Speaking at a media dinner, on Friday night, di Montezemolo told reporters there would be "no war or rival races" after 2007 when the current contracts governing Formula One end, but reiterated manufacturers want a big share of future revenues.

The future of Formula One is up in the air after a court ruling earlier this month in favour of three banks contesting Bernie Ecclestone's grip on the sport via a series of family holdings.

Publicly-owned Bayerische Landesbank, JP Morgan and Lehman Brothers control 75 percent of the SLEC holding company that owns the commercial rights to Formula One. The rest is owned by Bambino Holdings, an Ecclestone family trust.

"From 2008 there will only be one Formula One World Championships and the decision on this will fall in 2005. I don't care whether this World Championship series is called Golden Series, Championships League, or whatever," di Montezemolo said.

"I know that Ecclestone has certain rights in relationship to the Formula One name but that's not a problem for me.

"But whoever rules over the new Formula One must know that there must be big changes to profit sharing and the say of the teams and manufacturers," he added.

Di Montezemolo said he was not clear at the moment whether the banks or Ecclestone were in control of the sport. He aimed to speak to Ecclestone before the end of the year.

Manufacturers have proposed appointing a management company between the shareholders and the teams but this must be accompanied by other changes, he said.

His goal was for 80 percent of the sport's revenues to be shared between teams and manufacturers, compared with around 45 percent at present.

"We expect proposals....from the person who will be in charge of the Formula One business," he said. "They must be aware that after 2007 the value of the old Formula One will fall to zero if there's no consensus. They would be left standing like a Hollywood producer without any actors.

"If there's no solution then from 2008 there will be a new series organised on our behalf," he added.