HEATHROW MEETING - BUT NO AGREEMENTS

May 15, 2009

Formula 1 teams and the sport's governing body were unable to end their increasingly bitter dispute on Friday after Ferrari applied to a French court for an injunction against proposed IAF rule changes.

Ferrari is one of four teams which have threatened to withdraw at the end of the 2008 season unless fundamental revisions are made to the new regulations.

The Italian team, along with Toyota, Red Bull and Renault, claim that an optional £40-million cap to be imposed in 2009 could create advantages for those that agree to that budget.

IAF president Max Mosley and F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone attended a meeting with team bosses at an hotel near Heathrow airport London to discuss the crisis but at the end of the talks no solution was agreed and the teams left to discuss alternatives.

Mosley said: "During the meeting it became apparent that Ferrari had made an application to the French courts to apply for an injunction to stop us doing what we want to do.

"It was a friendly meeting and the teams have gone off to see if they can come up with something better than the cost cap but what we have said to them is that it's really not possible, if you are going to dramatically reduce the costs, to do anything better than a cost cut.

"When they think about it they will come back and agree. I'd be very surprised if, in the end, they do leave."

Ecclestone claimed it had been agreed that all the teams should run under one set of regulations, ending fears of a two-tier championship.

"I think the most important thing that upset everybody is the two-tier technical system and I think it's been agreed that we shouldn't have that, we should just have one set of regulations," he told the BBC.

"I think everybody is more or less happy with the budget cap, it's just a case of how much. I don't know if that means it will be higher or lower, it's a case of sorting that out."

Speaking before the meeting, Renault boss Flavio Briatore was adamant that "the rules should be written by us" (the teams) rather than imposed by the IAF.

"They can't be imposed by Max without him speaking to anyone. That's an unacceptable way to work."

Briatore stressed that the teams angered by the new rules were not seeking to form a breakaway championship but wanted to give their views regarding an alternative solution.

LOLA WANTS BACK IN

The deadline for teams submitting entries for next season is May 29 but Williams chief executive Adam Parr warned "time is running out" while adding that Williams stood by its support of the budget cap.

As some fret over the budget cap and its consequences the changes are to the liking of former F1 outfit Lola is envisaging a return to the circuits.

The stable last raced in 1997 but said in a statement that it fully backed the IAF revamp and wanted a 2010 slot.

"The budget cap is prudent, considering the backdrop of global economics. It also takes into account the need for new teams to be able to compete credibly against established entrants." - AFP