Breakaway championship an option for Ferrari

As the political battle around the garages in Formula One heats up Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has claimed that a breakaway series is an option.

With a new Concorde Agreement in discussion, heated debates over television revenue and talks regarding engine regulations proving divisive, there is a lot going on right now behind the scenes in Formula One.

Throw in News Corporation's interest in investing in the sport and there are now a fair few explosive elements in this particular equation, especially when News Corp have teamed up with Italian investment group Exor, who just so happen to have strong financial ties to Ferrari's parent company Fiat.

It's unsurprising then that Ferrari have decided to flex their muscles and openly discuss a breakaway from Formula One as a possible option in 2013.

'I think we have to be very pragmatic. At the end of 2012, the contracts of every single team with CVC [F1 owners] will expire. So, we have three alternatives,' di Montezemolo said in an interview on American news channel CNN.

'We renew with CVC, or we theoretically -- as the basketball teams did in the U.S. with great success - we create our own company, like the NBA. Just to run the races, the TV rights and so.

'And third, to find a different partner. Bernie Ecclestone did a very good job but he has already sold out three times, so he doesn't own the business anymore. It is CVC that will sell. It will be the teams' decisions.

It was inevitable that this scenario would result eventually in the threat of a breakaway series, especially with the links between Ferrari and Exor.

To many Formula One wouldn't be the same without Ferrari, so Ferrari are a powerful pawn in this political chess game and many would argue that whoever gets Ferrari onside will prove to be the winner.