Ex-FIA boss predicts F1 headed for 'collapse' if drastic changes are not made to motorsport racing

Former FIA president Max Mosley has given a grim prediction for the fate of Formula One, claiming that the sport was headed for a collapse if drastic changes are not made quickly.

Mosley, the FIA president from 1993 to 2009, said that at least half the grid was facing financial ruin and insisted that the introduction of a spending cap was critical. He said that half the teams simply can't compete because they haven't got enough money.

Mosley claimed that to him that is wrong, adding that one would not allow one team to run a bigger engine than another and yet if one team has five times as much money, the effect is exactly the same. He insisted that it's not fair from the sporting point of view, News.com.au reported.

Mosley said that the only way to deal with it is to get everybody to agree, adding that one can sit all the teams down and say that collectively they have got a massive problem because some of them have enough money, but most of them don't and if they go on like this Formula One is going to collapse, so he is inviting them all to agree to a change.

However, Mosley added that one cannot, unfortunately, do it without unanimity.

The Formula One circuit heads to Shanghai for the Chinese Grand Prix this weekend, with Mercedes and Ferrari the only serious contenders.