Formula One Split Less Likely, Says Mosley

The risk of Formula One suffering a split in five years looks less likely following the Kirch group's financial failure, FIA president Max Mosley said on Saturday.

Germany's Kirch, part of which filed for insolvency this week, are the majority shareholders in Bernie Ecclestone's SLEC holding, which has a 100-year contract for the commercial rights to Formula One.

But the leading carmakers in Formula One, who want to control the sport's revenues themselves, are threatening their own breakaway series from 2008 after failing to reach a deal with Kirch.

The 11 teams, more than half of which are owned by or are in close partnership with carmakers, are bound by the current 'Concorde Agreement' with the International Automobile Federation and Ecclestone until 2008.

Representatives of the carmakers met in Imola on Saturday to discuss their plans, and Mosley said the Kirch developments improved the prospects for an eventual agreement with Kirch.

"It's probably more likely rather than less likely now that a deal will be come to," he told a news conference on the eve of the San Marino Grand Prix at the Italian circuit.

"Instead of negotiating with a major media magnate, with all that goes with that, the manufacturers will be essentially I imagine negotiating with the banks."

Negative Effect

"The other thing is that I think everyone, particularly the manufacturers themselves, appreciates that the discussion about two championships is beginning to have a negative effect on Formula One," he added.

"We are now getting into a period where its the last five years of the Concorde agreement and a lot of sponsorship agreements are three to five year contracts.

"People start to wonder whether the situation is sufficiently stable to justify the sort of money that they can and would spend.

"There is now an increasing pressure from all sides to resolve the matter and get a clear deal. And I think that will happen," Mosley said.

Kirch's problems have had a major impact on German soccer, which had been assured revenue through pay-per-view television deals, but Mosley pointed out that Formula One was in a very different position.

"As far as we're concerned, I don't think that it makes a great deal of difference, at least at the moment.

"The Kirch insolvency is a huge problem for football in certain places because there are a number of teams that depend on Kirch for their income.

"Formula One is the other way round. Formula One doesn't get money from Kirch, Kirch gets money from Formula One."

Mosley also confirmed that the FIA had the power of veto if the rights owned by Kirch and SLEC were sold to an "undesirable organisation".

"Obviously we would exercise that right if we thought the interests of motorsport generally and Formula One in particular were likely to be damaged," he said.

That said, Mosley was confident that Formula One's position as one of the world's most watched sports would remain undamaged.

"In the nature of things, somebody is going to want to continue to show Formula One on free to air television worldwide and on pay per view worldwide.

"It shouldn't matter too much who does it."