BMW Says No Talks with Banks on F1

Carmakers involved in Formula One have not held talks with banks about taking a stake in the racing car business following the demise of German media group Kirch, BMW said on Sunday.

"There have been no talks - at least none that I know of - between the carmakers and the banks," BMW Chief Executive Helmut Panke told reporters on Sunday on the sidelines of the German Grand Prix.

Carmakers, including BMW, DaimlerChrysler's Mercedes unit and Fiat's Ferrari, have said they plan to take greater control of the sport by establishing a new racing car championship to rival Formula One after existing commercial contracts expire in 2007.

Banks including partly state-owned Bayern LB are expected to swap loans of $1.6 billion for a 75 percent stake in Formula One, which had been controlled by the now-insolvent Kirch Beteiligung unit of the German Kirch Media empire.

"What we and others have said from the beginning is that Formula One needs stable conditions and a big viewership," said Panke.

The carmakers have objected to the possibility of Kirch switching Formula One to pay television. They say this would drastically cut the number of viewers for the Championship, which they regard as a major marketing tool.

Panke said it was important for the carmakers to hold on to as big a proportion of the revenues from Formula One as possible. "We have a number of years to go but the investment is a major one and it is a question of long-term planning," he said.

Panke pointed out he was not a member of the GPWC company set up by Formula One carmakers to plan the possible new Championship.