Teams Fighting to Save Silverstone and France

The fate of the threatened British and French Grands Prix could hinge on Formula One teams agreeing to further significant cost-cutting measures for next season.

"Silverstone is not yet dead, the teams are working furiously to find a solution and throughout the team discussions, solutions were close for Silverstone and Magny-Cours," Minardi boss Paul Stoddart told Reuters at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

"They're not done unless the teams can find a way to seriously reduce their costs."

"It could well be that if we can get agreement this weekend, or shortly after it, to a few little things that we're trying to get agreement to from 10 teams, we could see an 18th or 19th Grand Prix."

Stoddart would not give details but the measures were likely to concern limits on testing, which champions Ferrari have resisted in the past.

Team bosses met Formula One's commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone at Interlagos on Friday and will have more meetings over the weekend on a wide range of issues affecting the troubled sport's future.

"All kinds of issues were discussed about how we can save money, about next year, about the plight of Jaguar, Jordan, Minardi," continued Stoddart.

"It's too early to say what's going to come out of it...but I'm quietly optimistic that maybe the teams can come up with more than (FIA president) Max (Mosley) has come up with to seriously address the cost of Formula One."

Sunday's season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix will be Ford-owned Jaguar's last race and that team need to find new owners before a deadline of November 15 for entries to the 2005 Championship.

Jordan and Minardi were both powered by Ford Cosworth, also up for sale after Ford announced they were quitting Formula One, and need to find new engines. The provisional calendar for 2005 has 19 races but teams are committed only to 17. Britain and France are subject to contracts being agreed.

"Basically there was some serious discussion about cost saving," Toyota motorsport president John Howett, who also attended Friday's meetings, told Reuters.

"Whether or not we can implement them we will have to wait and see, a couple of people may be resisting. But overall I think there's a general understanding that we've got to go further even now than these regulation changes.

"The issue obviously for some teams is that if there are 18, 19 races, how do they get reimbursed for the cost of those races? If we don't cut other things, it becomes really difficult for them to actually manage that.

"For the smaller guys to do 19 races is impossible unless they get money and then you've either got to cut costs or they've got to be reimbursed. I think that was the position that was put forward," he said.