Williams urge GPMA to abandon plans

That is the view of Williams CEO Chris Chapple, who claims that his team's decision to commit to Formula One beyond 2007 was fuelled by the fact that the offer on the table from Bernie Ecclestone and the FIA was everything that the manufacturers had originally wanted.

With Ecclestone believed to be offering 60 percent of all the sport's revenue to the teams, allied to a say in its future and promises of governance changes by the FIA, Chapple claims there is now no point in the manufacturers continuing to stand firm in their refusal to sign up to F1.

"Part of the reason of us announcing our plans today is that we want to create a debate about the future," he told autosport.com. "We want the manufacturers to look back at what they achieved, and they have achieved everything they set out to, so why maintain the threat of a second series?

"If they acknowledge that, then it makes sense to get around the table and start talking about the issues. Will it happen in the next 48 hours? No. But will our decision start a debate about the future? I hope so."

Although Williams admit that there are still some minor issues that need resolving with Ecclestone and the FIA, they pale into insignificance compared to the damage being caused by the threat of a breakaway.

"Our view now is that when you look at the issues the sport faces, the damaging threat of a new series is much bigger than what is left between us and the FIA and FOM," added Chapple.

"The one thing that needs to get removed is the threat from a rival series. Sponsors are questioning signing up with multi-million pound deals because there is a chance the sport will blow up in 18 months. Now is the right time to acknowledge the huge amount that has been achieved by the discussions with the manufacturers over the last 12 months.

"The manufacturers should be proud of what has been achieved. We haven't got everything we wanted but life is about compromises. Rarely do you get everything you want, but when the details of this deal come out, people will be surprised by what has been achieved."

And the insistence on continuing the threat of the breakaway appears to be even more futile with high level sources claiming on Wednesday that both Honda and Toyota have already indicated that they do not wish to be part of the new series, with Renault saying they will not contribute financially to it.

The three manufacturers are not able to break free from their commitment to the GPMA, however, because of a document they signed with Mercedes-Benz and BMW in September, which binds them all together until next year. It prevents any of them acting individually and leaving the group to sign up to F1, even if they wish to do so.

"There will not be a second series," added Chapple, who would not confirm whether there was a split in the manufacturers' ranks.

"What is on the table is a big victory and it is bemusing that certain people within the manufacturer group are refusing to accept that it is the way forward. I think you can only conclude that there is an intellectual mental block with carrying on."

Chapple has also rubbished any suggestions that Williams have only signed up to the new deal because of financial reasons following the end of their partnership with BMW and their need to pay for customer engines next year.

"There is one very clear fact - we are in a more healthy financial state at the moment than we were last year and the year before that.

"We have no debt and it is absolute hog wash that we are doing it for money. If we were doing it for money then we would have done it six months ago when we lost sponsor HP."