LEADERS of rebel Grand Prix teams fly into Heathrow tomorrow for a show-down with Formula One's ruling body over a governance row that threatens to split the sport.
Eight teams - BMW, Brawn, Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull, Renault, Toro Rosso and Toyota - say that rules for next year imposed by Max Mosley, president of the FIA, the body that administers F1, are unfair, unworkable and would give the FIA unacceptable powers to pry into their financial affairs.
The Heathrow meeting starts a week of talks aimed at finding a solution before this Friday's deadline. The British Grand Prix will be run at Silverstone next weekend.
F1 insiders say the dispute is the most serious yet of the periodic battles at the top of the multi-billion-pound sport. Some think it could lead to a final split between the manufacturers and the FIA. "The difference this time is that all the big teams are united against Max. The normal divide-and-rule tactics have not worked," said one.
Flavio Briatore, who runs the Renault team, told The Sunday Times: "We accept the need to cut costs in Formula One and we are happy to have new teams, but not like this. We are confusing our sponsors and the audience."
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John Howett, who runs the Toyota team, said: "All our problems stem from one problem: there isn't a balanced and correct governance system in place."
In a letter to the FIA last week, the eight said: "We run a high risk of alienating and losing a number of teams."
Executives at the Formula One Teams Association met Mosley last week in an attempt to solve the row but made little progress. On Friday, the FIA published the entries for next year's championship, despite the objections to the rules. It made several of the teams' entries "conditional", giving a deadline of this Friday for a resolution of the row.
Mosley wants to impose budget caps, creating a two-tier championship comprised of teams that agreed to a £40m limit and those that did not. The former group would be given technical freedoms that most believe would provide a competitive advantage.
The FIA will also set up a "cost commission" with power to investigate the workings of the capped teams - a plan that has caused anger. "The publication of absolute team budget figures risks inflicting serious damage to the value of existing teams and has significantly reduced the fees that can be charged to sponsors," the letter to the FIA says.
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The teams have put forward their set of rules, which suggest more straightforward curbs including a limit on numbers of key components, such as tyres, that can be bought during a season.