Ahead of this weekend's British Grand Prix, and (possibly) more importantly, ahead of Max Mosley's legal case against the News of the World - which gets underway on Monday - Bernie Ecclestone has appeared to call a truce with his former 'partner in crime'.

Ecclestone, having called on Mosley to step down as FIA President, claimed that the revelations regarding his private life would do irreparable damage to the sport, then threatened all-out war with Mosley, who last month won the support of the FIA member clubs.

In recent weeks, while publicly attacking Mosley, Ecclestone has sought to talk things over with his old mucker, but to no avail, the F1 supremo being given a variety of reasons why his friend was not available to talk; "he's out", "he's washing his hair", "he's in the dungeon and he cannot be disturbed".

Now, in the wake of Mosley's demand - and that's the only word to use - that the teams come up with a sustainable package of rules that they agree with, Ecclestone has told The Times - sister newspaper to the News of the World, and clearly the F1 supremo's official organ - that he and Mosley have reached an agreement and called a truce.

"The bottom line is simple," he told the British newspaper, "we have moved to patch up our differences."

"Truce" seems to be the in-word at present, with many in the sport surprised - if not downright speechless - to see Tom Rubython back in the F1 paddock.

Rubython, who has enjoyed a number of run-ins with Mosley, was present at the Monaco GP and will be swanning about the paddock at Silverstone this weekend, much to the annoyance of many other journos.

While officially his re-admission to the F1 paddock is said to be due to the fact that his latest magazine meets the FIA's criteria - in terms of accreditation - many suspect that his return to the fold is actually part of Mosley's game plan.