No immediate end in sight to regulations row

With high court proceedings expected to start tomorrow and the World Motor Sport Council meeting on Wednesday, it seems unlikely there will be a speedy reconciliation in the Formula One row.

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SILVERSTONE // With high court proceedings expected to start tomorrow and the World Motor Sport Council meeting on Wednesday, it seems unlikely there will be a speedy reconciliation in the Formula One row. But Bernie Ecclestone is trying to broker an agreement between the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's governing body, and the Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) on the new regulations and plans for the future, which has caused the problems and led to drastic measures being discussed.

Legal action is being taken by the FIA to prevent the eight members of FOTA, including Ferrari and McLaren, starting a breakaway series to rival their own 2010 world championship. More talks are expected with the situation set to be clearer by Wednesday's World Motor Sport Council meeting in Paris. Ecclestone, the Formula One supremo, is hoping a solution can be found to keep the top teams in place with the possibility of no budget cap if they sign up until 2014.

He also felt Max Mosley, the president of the FIA, was trying to help secure the future of Formula One with his measures. "I'm sure we'll find a way," he said. "We have us, the federation and the teams and that's the way it should stay. "I think in the end people will have enough sense not to bust this business up. Everyone should stay in their place and do their job. "As ever when people start to have an argument they don't know where to stop and all sorts of people have ideas about what should and shouldn't happen, but eventually it will sort itself out.

"I have some sympathy for the teams. Nobody wants to be told how they can spend their money. I say, provided they confirm they will be in the championship for five years, they can spend what they like. "And with Max, it's difficult for some people to understand that this all started because he wanted to save the teams money so they didn't go out of business. He has done a lot of very good things for Formula One."

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