24/05/2009
NEWS STORY
Speaking ahead of today's Monaco GP, Max Mosley says that common ground is rapidly being established with FOTA and that the budget cap row is close to being resolved.
"Slowly we're getting to a situation where everyone is going to agree," he told the BBC.
He then revealed that the original plan to introduce a £40m budget cap in 2010 could now be delayed until 2011, when the threshold would be 45m euros.
"There may be an intermediate year in 2010, that is still under discussion, he said, "we'll really come down to that figure in 2011. Everyone understands that it simply cannot go on at the present level; the money isn't there."
However, the budget cap row is only part of the problem as far as the teams are concerned, they are also unhappy with the governance of the sport and particularly Mosley's dictatorial and confrontational attitude.
"They want to go back to the days of the F1 Commission and the system we had before the Concorde Agreement ran out so they can sit down and discuss all the rules," he admitted. "From our point of view, it's a very tiresome process, but it does actually work."
Further to speculation that one or more teams might use the row as an excuse to walk away from the sport, at a time of general financial gloom, and, in some cases, lack of results, Mosley admitted: "We may lose one or two manufacturers or teams".
Asked if he feared the teams heading off to form a breakaway championship, the former March team owner said: "I think they all realise that isn't practical. We tried all this in 1980-81 and we had a lot more going for us than they do. You can't really do that, all you do is destroy what you've got. So that's a bargaining position."