Motorsport: F1 teams planning breakaway

Formula One teams and carmakers planning their own series from 2008 agreed on Thursday to boycott a meeting with the sport's governing body.

The nine teams, all except champions Ferrari, and five manufacturers made the decision after a meeting in London and are ploughing ahead with plans for a breakaway championship.

International Automobile Federation (FIA) president Max Mosley had invited all teams to Paris on April 15 to discuss the technical regulations for 2008 in accordance with an existing commercial agreement that expires in 2007.

"No one is going to attend the meeting with Max (on April 15), and there will be a press release to say that," BAR chief executive Nick Fry told Autosport-Atlas.

"We have a great alignment between the nine teams and the five manufacturers...with each of the teams reporting positive progress and a good endorsement of what is going to happen.

"But this work will take a couple of months to complete. We are still heading towards our schedule of having something which we will be pleased to share with the FIA and (Formula One supremo) Bernie Ecclestone probably around July-August time."

The teams are expected to issue a statement confirming the boycott later on Thursday.

So far only Ferrari, isolated over their refusal to join the others in reduced testing, have agreed to extend the existing 'Concorde Agreement' with the FIA until 2012.

The last time the FIA called a meeting to discuss the regulations, only Ferrari turned up.

The manufacturers alliance of BMW, Renault, DaimlerChrysler, Honda and Toyota want most of the revenues, a level playing field and far greater transparency.

At the moment most of the money goes to Ecclestone's holding company SLEC, now controlled by three banks.

- REUTERS