Mosley: Kirch problems not a concern

Speaking at Imola's opening round of the European grand prix season, Mosley said: "The Kirch situation is interesting because it owns 75 percent of SLEC, Bernie Ecclestone's business which has the commercial rights to grands prix for next 108 years.

"But whereas the company's position is a problem for football teams, that is because a lot depend on Kirch for their income whereas in Formula 1 the teams don't get money from Kirch. Rather, Kirch gets money from Formula 1.

"And, in the longer term we (the FIA) has a right of veto if the rights are sold to an undesirable organisation. In the nature of things, someone will want to show F1 on free-to-air TV and on pay-per-view. We will confront this question when it arises."

Mosley also agreed with several leading F1 team principals that the Kirch situation is likely to speed up a solution to the prospective plans for a breakaway manufacturers' championship.

"I think that it's more likely rather than less likely that a deal will come to pass because instead of negotiating with a media magnate, they will now be negotiating with the banks. I think that everyone, especially the manufacturers, realise that discussion about two championships is beginning to have a negative effect. That is because we are getting to within five years of the end of the current Concorde Agreement and a lot of the sponsorship contracts in F1 are of three to five years duration. So it is bound to be a concern."