Mosley says GPWC is serious

Any breakaway series could have serious repercussions for the sport if there is a divide among the participating teams, but Mosley admitted at Imola: "It's beginning to look as if my prediction that they will all reach agreement is wrong and they might not."

Bernie Ecclestone sold 75% of the F1 business to the Kirch Group in 2001, which then went bankrupt, leaving the shares under the control of various banks. For them to be worth anything, the banks need the teams on-side but the teams want a much more equitable future distribution of wealth than hereto. This situation led to Ferrari, Mercedes, BMW, Renault and Ford (Jaguar) looking at running a rival series from 2008, detailed submissions about which were recently presented to the teams.

The situation is complex, with some teams, such as Ferrari and McLaren, wholly or part-owned by manufacturers while others remain independent.

Mosley said at Imola: "Under the Concorde Agreement we have to announce the rules for the 2008 Formula 1 World Championship no later than 31st October 2005. If they want to run a private series they are free to do so, we'll help, and they are expected to produce their sporting and technical regulations before the middle of 2007. They submit them to the FIA and, unless there is a problem with safety or fairness, we approve them.

"Then, you'd have F1, the GPWC series, whatever they called it, and competition would reign. The teams would be going back and forth between the two, and likewise the organisers, the TV and everything."

Mosley, as the FIA president, had little choice but to publicly wear his arbitrator's hat, acknowledging that while the one and only FIA championship will be the one started back in 1950, there is nothing to stop anyone starting a rival series. But, he offered: "Personally I don't think there should be two championships. It looks to me like it's not the most efficient way. They have these dreams of lots more money but in the end the teams and promoters and so on would play one off against the other and the reality would probably be less money. But life is about competition and you have to let people make their own mistakes....

Asked why he was more convinced about the seriousness of the GPWC proposals than previously, Mosley replied: "Because all the teams signed (the documentation) and they look serious. Point two, they've made offers to Bernie and the banks that have been rejected and he and his associates have made offers to them that have also been rejected. Which makes me think that they are not going to reach agreement. But I think that in the end the whole thing will probably sort itself out.