By Alan Baldwin
LONDON (Reuters) - Formula One teams hold crisis talks with world motorsport head Max Mosley Friday to try and stave off the threat of world champions Ferrari and others walking away.
In what amounts to a high stakes game of blink, the International Automobile Federation (FIA) president and 10 teams face off with each side adamant they are not bluffing and seemingly determined to out-stare the other.
The FIA want an optional 40 million pound cost cap, offering greater technical freedom than available to those teams staying on unrestricted budgets, that they say is needed for the sport's survival in the face of the global financial crisis.
Ferrari say that will lead to a two-tier championship that they cannot accept. They, and former champions Renault, have said they will leave at the end of the season unless the regulations are re-written.
Toyota and Red Bull's two teams have also said they cannot submit their entries by the May 29 deadline for the same reasons.
Formula One needs Ferrari but the Italian glamour team also need the sport, something that commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone has been at pains to point out, and some sort of compromise may be inevitable.
"I must be clear that we, Ferrari and the others have no intention of breaking with FIA," Renault team boss Flavio Briatore said Thursday.
"We want to be there, to participate, to preserve the future."
With all eyes on the sport for the showcase Monaco Grand Prix next week, a key race for business and sponsorship deals, the teams will want to remove the doubts about the championship's future as soon as possible.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Pritha Sarkar;