Mosley Says New F1 Deal is Close

FIA president Max Mosley said today that he believes the dispute over the future of Formula One is close to be resolved but has warned that financial matters still need looking at to avoid trouble in the future.

Mosley, speaking at the Monaco Grand Prix, is confident that talks between the sport's ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone and the banks who control Formula One, the major manufacturers and the teams will be concluded soon.

"Everybody concerned with the negotiations between Bernie, the banks, the manufacturers and the teams all say they are close to an agreement and I think that is probably true," Mosley told reporters. "I don't know the details, and really I am a bit out of it, as it is up to them and is a commercial matter, but I believe they are close to an agreement.

"It is hard to say how long until then, as a lot of people are involved, and a lot of lawyers, and a lot of accountants. I think that once they have agreed in principle it should be quick. Just a matter of weeks."

The manufacturers formed their own company, the Grand Prix World Championship (GPWC) to run their own series from the end of 2007, if no agreement is reached with the banks that currently control the sport's commercial rights.

Ecclestone's family trust owns only 25 percent of the rights-holding company SLEC, after selling the remainder to Germany's Kirch Group. When the Kirch organisation collapsed, the shares were transferred to the ownership of the banks.

The manufacturers, Renault, BMW, Mercedes' parent DaimlerChrysler, Ferrari and Ford, want a far greater share in Formula One's revenues and this has been at the heart of all the talks. The teams are bound by an existing Concorde Agreement, which expires in 2007, after which they are free to choose their own future.

But Mosley insisted that it would not be sensible to have two championships and said: "Neither would have enough money. But it doesn't matter to us. We can regulate two championships.

"It would be crazy to have two championships - one run by the manufacturers and the bigger teams and the official championship, that Bernie has the right to which would be run with the smaller teams, or new teams.

"Television and the organisers would be playing one against the other and they would end up with no money. If there were two championships, in the end they would come together within a few months or whatever. They know this."