“The teams have talked about this before,” Ecclestone told the Sunday Express, “not that long ago, but the circumstances are different this time.

“I'm certainly not advocating a breakaway, but in theory they could do their own deal for TV, whatever. NASCAR do it all for themselves in the States, but I don't know if they really want to do this in F1.

“The thing is that I have an agreement with the FIA, which is the regulatory body, but until the teams have a Concorde Agreement they could do what they want.

“It was us who created F1 as it now is – before the FIA. They have the rules, but no teams and no contracts.”

According to German magazine Auto Motor und Sport, Ecclestone has the backing of Honda and McLaren, while Toyota and Williams are reluctant, with BMW Motorsport Director Dr Mario Theissen declaring: “At the moment I do not have a clear picture. In all scenarios, a separate series would not be the first option.”