Mosley told teams to lodge conditional entries
While the FOTA teams insist they will not accept the announced 2010 rules, and Max Mosley insists the FIA must write the regulations, BMW chief Theissen was asked about the 'conditional entries' lodged by the deadline last Friday.
"The term 'conditional entry' came from Mosley," the German is quoted as saying by the SID news agency.
It is suggested that, at the Monaco meeting in Monaco nearly two weeks ago, the FIA president advised FOTA to lodge the entries attached to their conditions for competing next year.
It had previously been presumed that the conditional status of the entries would render them invalid in the eyes of the FIA, and that the June 12 entry list will therefore omit the nine teams involved.
But in light of Theissen's revelation, it is now less likely that the entries will be dismissed by Mosley, because if that was to be the case, he would have simply allowed FOTA to miss the May 29 deadline altogether.
What could be developing behind the scenes is a delicate exercise in devising a solution that leaves no egg on the faces of the various egos involved.
So while the hard-liners like Ferrari and Toyota insist a budget cap will never be accepted, Theissen on Thursday was keen to play down reports that a breakaway championship is increasingly looking likely.
"All I can say is that we want to come to a solution with the FIA. We are open and ready to talk," he said.
No significant meetings are currently planned for this weekend.