BBC THREATEN F1 AXE
They'll quit £250million deal if breakaway goes ahead
Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton: Sort out Formula One mess
Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton plead with Grand Prix chiefs
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WORRIED BBC chiefs want to axe their £250million five-year TV deal if the eight rebel teams quit Formula One.
Lawyers from the Beeb and Europe's other major broadcasters were last night studying their contracts with Bernie Ecclestone's Formula One Management.
And a BBC insider admitted: "There are a lot of nerves over the threat of a breakaway. Who is going to want to watch drivers for Campos or Manor when Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton are racing elsewhere?"
The BBC is in the first year of its deal but Sport of the World understands they have NO get-out clause if the likes of Ferrari, Button's Brawn GP team or Hamilton's McLaren outfit quit F 1.
But Sky TV in Italy is understood to have it written into their contract that Ferrari MUST be part of the championship.
The rebels - under the Formula One Teams Association umbrella - have been contacted by several circuits about plans to host races.
However, FIA president Max Mosley has blasted the rebel leaders and told them: "You're all loonies."
Mosley said: "It is the nature of the loonies that you don't really have a leader, that you are all loonies together."
But McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh is hoping a solution to the crisis can be found. He said: "It is not about winning or losing. We want to enter a championship where we have an influence on regulations."
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