Ferrari could be ready to lead a shock breakaway series to rival Formula One, the sport's former supremo Bernie Ecclestone claimed.
Ecclestone, the 87-year-old operating in his role as F1's chairman emeritus, says Ferrari CEO Sergio Marchionne has already staged talks about forming a rebel championship.
Breakaway: Sergio Marchionne.Credit: AP
Marchionne warned in December that Ferrari - the only team to contest every F1 season and the most successful - will quit the sport unless American owners Liberty Media change plans for the future.
In a wide-ranging interview, Ecclestone also said that plans for a women-only motor racing series are set to get the green light and that an F1 race will soon be staged on the streets of Vietnam, before calling on the sport he once governed for four decades to become an all-electric series.
Ferrari are tied to the sport until the end of 2020 but are deeply disgruntled about Liberty's future vision on engines and distribution of prizemoney.
Ferrari receive a bonus payment as the oldest marque in the sport.
"Some people have a new series in mind," Ecclestone said.
"Sergio has spoken to other people about it.
"The bottom line is simple. Formula One is Ferrari and Ferrari is Formula One.
"If you go and speak to anyone in the world, they don't care about Ferrari road cars.
"I'd hate to see F1 without them."
Ecclestone claimed that a number of unhappy race promoters would support Ferrari.
"If a new series started and it had the same elements as there is now, and it was cheaper for the promoters than F1 then they would immediately say 'yes' [to Ferrari]," Ecclestone said.
Plans for a historic women-only championship, first revealed by Press Association Sport last year, are also close to fruition, according to Ecclestone.
He believes the sport must take the radical step of becoming an all-electric series from 2021.
"We still own the name Formula One, we still have contracts with promoters, so let's make different type of cars, and let's speak to the manufacturers and start a new all-electric F1; a Formula One for the future," he said.
Meanwhile, Ecclestone said a street race in the city of Hanoi, Vietnam, could be on the F1 calendar by 2020 after the Malaysian GP was dropped after last year's race.
PA