The fact that FIA president Max Mosley was among the invited guests at the launch of his team's 2005 contender, the R25, didn't put Renault team president, Patrick Faure, off his stride.

The Frenchman made it clear that the proposed breakaway championship, the Grand Prix World Championship (GPWC), is still on course, despite the loss of Ferrari and Mosley's claim that it is "impossible to take it seriously".

Although Ferrari has sided with Bernie Ecclestone and the FIA, committing itself to a new Concorde Agreement, and shunning the GPWC, Honda and Toyota now appear to be fully behind the series, and as Faure warned, the threat should be taken seriously.

"If necessary, we will create our own championship," he told reporters. "We have nine teams and there is one on the other side."

Last Friday, nine of the ten F1 teams contesting the 2005 Formula One World Championship, shunned a planned meeting with Mosley, leaving the FIA president to share tea, biscuits and an agreeable tête-à-tête with Ferrari's Ross Brawn and Jean Todt, leading to accusation of collaboration and thereby further widening the rift. Mosley's subsequent comment that the meeting was "useful" and that he found it "much easier to talk to one team" will not have helped.

Working away in the background is Bernie Ecclestone, who has offered the teams a large cash incentive, worth several billion (in total) over the next few years, if they'll sign up. However, speaking yesterday, Faure made it clear that the nine remaining teams will not be rushed or pushed into a decision.

"The only thing that I'm sure of is that for the moment nothing is clear about what is going to happen in 2008," he said. "So let's clarify what is going to happen, what sort of championship we'll have and then we'll discuss the participation of Renault, Honda, Ferrari or whoever. The other nine teams are clearly united on principles and we are not going to compromise on this.

"It's quite courageous to say that you will renew the Concorde Agreement with only one team," he added, smiling. "I find that fantastically humorous."

Referring to talk of Honda and Toyota joining the GPWC, he said: "I have the impression that they want to join something new that will be created and not something existing already. We are discussing with them at the moment to create something new, the five of us working together to have our ideas coming into reality.

"We are very much in line with the Japanese companies," he added, "we have no problems there."