By Andrew Benson BBC Sport Online motorsport editor

The financial collapse of the Kirch media giant could lead to the end of the long-running battle over the future of Formula One.

KirchMedia's decision to declare itself insolvent is the best chance yet of solving the stand-off between it and the car manufacturers, who have threatened to set up their own series.

Car giants DaimlerChrysler, Fiat, BMW, Renault and Ford, which are all involved in F1, have said they will break away from the current championship in 2008.

But according to sources within F1, the insolvency could open the door for the manufacturers to buy Kirch's 75% shareholding in Slec, the company that owns the sport's commercial rights.

Obstacle removed

That would solve their main concern - the car makers want control over the sport so they can ensure it is run in a way that suits them.

In particular, the manufacturers want to ensure that it continues to be shown on terrestrial TV - they were worried that Kirch would switch it to pay TV, in which it is a big player.

Kirch's collapse has removed a large obstacle preventing a deal with the manufacturers.

Kirch paid a huge sum for the shares - a total of about $2bn (�1.3bn), but they are now worth nothing like that.

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The shares have dropped in value by nearly two-thirds since Kirch's partner EM.TV bought its first 50% shareholding in Slec.

The manufacturers were prepared to buy the shares - but only at the right price. And Kirch was holding out for as much as possible in an attempt to recoup its investment.

Even though the F1 rights are held by a Kirch subsidiary which is not in the hands of the administrator, it may now be easier for the manufacturers to come to a deal.

Another possibility would be for F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, who owns the other 25% of Slec, to buy back Kirch's shares and then do a deal with the manufacturers to keep them on board.

Certainly F1 insiders would like the manufacturers to be tied in to try to make the sport less vulnerable than it appears to be at the moment.

At least two teams are understood to lack enough money to complete the season.

Sense of responsibility

And there are concerns about what would happen if some of the manufacturers decided to withdraw their involvement with teams because of a lack of success.

Jaguar, who are owned by Ford, are considered to be particularly vulnerable.

Their team is performing very poorly, and some believe that Ford will not be able to tolerate a lack of success for much longer.

If three or four teams dropped out, F1 grids would start to look very thin, which would be bad for a sport that has cultivated a rich and glamorous image.

Insiders believe that the manufacturers would be more likely to behave with a sense of responsibility if they owned a major part of F1.

Determined

The manufacturers are working towards building a championship that they control, according to sources at GPWC, the company set up to look after their interests.

They are looking at ways of ensuring that a high-quality, manufacturer-led motor racing series will continue long into the future.

This could be the existing F1 world championship as long as they can buy the shares that they want.

But they are determined to get their own way eventually whatever it takes.