FIA World Council gathers for crucial F1 meeting

PARIS - The World Motor Sport Council of the ruling body FIA gathered Wednesday for a crucial meeting regarding the future of Formula One over a row between the governing body and eight teams.

A showdown between FIA president Max Mosley and Luca di Montezemolo, president of Ferrari and the team umbrella organization FOTA, was anticipated at the Paris event.

The eight FOTA teams announced a breakaway series last week as a result of an unsolved dispute with FIA in general in Mosley in particular over a budget cap planned for 2010.

The eight teams - Ferrari, McLaeren-Mercedes, BMW-Sauber, Brawn GP, Renault, Toyota, Red Bull and Toro Rosso - are also unhappy with Mosley’s authoritarian leadership.

A solution appears only possible if Mosley, who has presided over FIA since 1993, does not seek another term as president in October.

Mosley insisted in a letter to the 222 FIA members Tuesday that only they could decide about his future and that the attack on himself and the FIA by the teams made him in fact consider another term.

However, British daily The Times reiterated Wednesday that Mosley may not stand again and that this will be decided by the way di Montezemolo addresses the matter.

“Despite Mosley’s belligerent tone, his office was still arguing Tuesday that he may yet agree not to stand again if Di Montezemolo handles his address in a statesmanlike manner and does not attack the FIA or Mosley,” The Times said.

“The impression that other senior figures in the sport are getting from the rebel teams is that anything short of Mosley resigning and standing down completely from the FIA will not stop their championship going ahead. As one impeccable source put it: ‘The teams want him out now.’”