Formula One boss Max Mosley has stepped up the pressure on the sport's car manufacturers by saying he will not sanction a rival world championship organised by them.

Mosley - president of the sport's governing body, the FIA - has reportedly told team principals that a manufacturer series would be authorised - but not as a replacement to F1.

Promoter Bernie Ecclestone, the teams and banks controlling the sport's commercial rights had been due to discuss the existing championship's future on 11 December.

The Financial Times newspaper reported that Ecclestone had cancelled the meeting in Stuttgart because the car makers had not responded to proposals to give them greater control of F1.

The manufacturers have established their own company, GPWC, to prepare for a rival championship that could come into existence once the existing Concorde Agreement between the teams, commercial rights holders and FIA expires in 2007.

Car makers have threatened to form a rival series

The car makers already control or are heavily involved in the majority of the 10 teams in the series.

Fiat own Ferrari, BMW are partners of Williams, Mercedes have a stake in McLaren, Renault have their own team and Ford own Jaguar.

Toyota also have their own team while Honda are involved with British American Racing.

Ford also provide engines to Jordan and Minardi while the Swiss-based Sauber team use Ferrari power.

Banks Beyerische Landesbank, JP Morgan and Lehman Brothers now control 75% of Slec, the F1 holding company which was sold by Ecclestone to EM.TV and then to the Kirch media group, which collapsed earlier this year.

The banks are now seeking to sell a stake of Slec to the car makers.

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said last week that teams needed more say in running the sport rather than receiving just 47% of the television revenue as at present.

"The overall structure of the sport has to change," he said.

"The present power balance is not 100% correct. One era of F1 is over and it needs to be taken into the future by a very professional management company."