Ecclestone raises warning of F1 breakaway

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has issued his clearest warning yet that the teams could form a breakaway competition in the wake of the Max Mosley sex scandal.

Formula One's teams are still livid that Mosley retained his position as president of the FIA -- the sport's governing body -- after the UK's News of the World published allegations that he was involved in an orgy with prostitutes.

They met with Ecclestone at Canadian Grand Prix to discuss the situation, with McLaren boss Ron Dennis openly saying afterwards that he would support an overhaul of Formula One to restore stability in the wake of the Mosley scandal.

Now Ecclestone has stirred the pot further, telling The Times of London Monday that the teams are free to do what they want without a binding agreement with the FIA that is current.

"What the FIA doesn't have, which is the most important thing for them, is an agreement with the teams which they would have with a Concorde Agreement," Ecclestone told The Times.

"The teams can do what they like. At the moment what we are trying to do, to keep sponsors happy, is say we can't break away, but it could well be that that will happen. There is no agreement between the teams and the FIA. There is a commercial agreement that has been signed by the teams and FOM [Ecclestone's company], so the teams can do what they like."

Ecclestone's comments are an attempt to place more pressure on Mosley to return to the negotiating table.

Ecclestone is seeking changes -- he says barely cosmetic -- to the contracts that govern the relationship between his companies (which effectively control the sport's financial wealth) and the FIA.

Mosley warned before the FIA vote on his future earlier this month that Ecclestone was trying to takeover the sport completely, including the FIA's role as the sport's chief rule maker.

However, Ecclestone told The Times Mosley was eyeing up the sport's finances.

"Max has nothing to do with finance," he said. "The FIA has a clear and signed agreement with the European Commission that they are the regulators of the sport. They are not anything to do with money. If Max comes back and says we should give more money to teams, I will tell him to mind his own bloody business.

"People don't know what's going on. So if you are a big, big organization, you don't know what decisions to take. I am responsible to our shareholders, the teams and the manufacturers, who have an awful lot of money invested."

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