The Grand Prix World Championship (GPWC), the consortium of car makers planning to form a break-away F1 championship, has issued a deadline to Bernie Ecclestone to resolve the future of the current championship or face the loss of top manufacturers.
The group which is made up of manufacturers currently involved in F1 is threatening to establish a rival series. The GPWC led by Fiat, Renault, Ford, DaimlerChrysler and BMW want greater control over F1 and a larger share of the revenue it generates. The GPWC's chief spokesman, Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo has now told Ecclestone that if progress is not made on reforming the structure of F1, they will move on with their plans to form the rival series in 2008 when the current agreement binding teams to F1, the Concorde Agreement, expires.
"We would like a solution with Mr Ecclestone and the banks," di Montezemolo told Britain's Financial Times newspaper, "but, if [we do not get one], it will be bad but not a tragedy."
A break-away championship supported by the major manufactuers including Fiat, which owns the Ferrari marque, could leave the existing series without any big name teams or manufacturers. Of the big manufacturers involved in F1 only Honda and Toyota remain outside the GPWC group but they have been rumoured to be seriously considering becoming involved also.
Although the teams want more control over the sport, money is the main bone of contention. With manufacturers investing vast sums into the sport they are now seeking a more suitable financial return from the sport."In no other sport are the teams deprived of a share of two of the three main revenue streams - trackside advertising and ticket sales - while having to share just 47 per cent of the gross income from TV rights," explained di Montezemolo.
It is rumoured that Ecclestone will prevent the creation of a break-away championship by offering the manufacturers a bigger slice of the television and sponsorship revenues before the end of the year.
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