Speaking at Silverstone today, FIA President Max Mosley, claimed that despite appearances - not to mention the fact that the FIA is due to instigate legal proceedings against Ferrari and FOTA - F1's governing body is close to reaching a compromise with the eight 'rebel' teams.

"We are talking to people all the time," he said. "It will all be back to normal, it's just a question of when.

"We are very, very close," he added. "What divides us and the teams is minimal and really is something we could sit down and iron out very quickly."

Now that's all very well, but speaking to Pitpass tonight, a well-placed source said otherwise.

"It's nonsense," said the source. "No progress has been made today, simply because the team principals have been rather busy going motor racing and haven't thought it necessary to interrupt their race programmes in order attempt to engage in dialogue with a man who regards them as 'loonies'.

"The comments he made this morning, that "a resolution is very, very close" is merely a bit of disingenuous spin," added the source. "No resolution is remotely close, as he well knows.

"His comment was intended to cast the fact that no resolution is remotely close as the fault of FOTA, whose members remain war like when all he wants is to make peace."