Perhaps Bernie can solve F1 crisis
Although FOTA's breakaway statement overnight indicated that negotiations with the ruling bodies have ended, Horner – boss of the FOTA member Red Bull Racing – indicated that the situation is still evolving in the Silverstone paddock.
Indeed, FIA president Max Mosley arrived at the Northamptonshire venue at the beginning of Friday practice, and rapidly decamped to Ecclestone's motor home and 30 minutes later had not emerged.
"Bernie is in a situation where his key assets are saying they can't enter. If anybody can deliver a solution to all this, I think he's about the only man who can," Horner told the BBC.
"But it isn't forthcoming at the moment," he added.
It is also clear that the political games are still being played, with rumors that Prodrive, N.Technology and Lola are being courted by FOTA to enter the alternative series.
The latter two prospective FIA entries have already withdrawn their 2010 applications, a day before the governing body publishes its definitive entry list.
One solution being mentioned in the Silverstone paddock is that the FIA World Motor Sport Council could vote to expel Mosley and then rescue the situation by bowing to FOTA's demands.
"It has become very serious," former team owner Eddie Jordan admitted at the circuit, "and heads will roll before this sorts itself out."