Mosley and team bosses continue talks to stave off F1 war

FIA president Max Mosley and the Formula One Teams’ Association (FOTA) will stage a further round of talks in Monaco today in a bid to bring an end to the current war tearing the sport apart.

At the end of a marathon seven hours of discussions, initially among the team principals and then with Mosley, the deadlock has yet to be broken.

Mosley at least offered a positive outlook by conceding he is “always hopeful and confident there will be an agreement”, and the likelihood is it will be at some stage this weekend.

“It was a constructive meeting, we spent three hours, and there are ongoing discussions,” said Mosley as he emerged from the Automobile Club de Monaco that sits on the start/finish straight.

The suggestion is a ‘glide-path’ budget cap could be introduced to arrive at the £40 million (€45 million) figure by 2012, rather than with immediate effect for next season.

That would appease all the teams as Ferrari president and FOTA chairman Luca di Montzemolo conceded earlier in the day that “common ground” had been reached between the 10 marques.

That statement followed a two-and-a-half hour FOTA meeting aboard Renault team principal Flavio Briatore’s multi-million pound yacht, Force Blue, moored in the Monte-Carlo harbour.

Di Montezemolo suggested FOTA were heading into their showdown with Mosley with a final proposal.

After stepping off the boat, Di Montezemolo said: “As always it was a very constructive, very useful meeting between the teams, with a very good atmosphere.

“FOTA is now an organisation with a common view. We are all together and in position to go to the chairman of FIA (Mosley) saying in a very constructive, but very clear way, the position of FOTA – that we will not enter the championship with these rules and with this governance.

“We have to discuss the possibility to change the situation in a constructive and clear way because we want Formula One, we don’t want something different.”

When more pertinently asked if it was a final proposition they were putting to Mosley, he replied: “Yes.”

If Di Montezemolo’s assertion is correct that all 10 teams are now behind Ferrari, if no resolution is found then it could be a case of one out, all out.

Nick Fry was the only team member to offer an opinion on the day’s events, Brawn GP’s chief executive indicating the prospect of a resolution at some stage this weekend.

“It’s all good progress and we go to the next level of discussion,” said Fry.

“Proposals were made and common ground was found, so I’m sure there will be more discussion, and I think we’ll be done this weekend.”