MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - Australian Grand Prix chief Ron Walker says he'd cancel next year's Formula One race at Albert Park if a threat by the top teams to not compete in 2010 is carried out.
"You can just imagine if the likes of (Roger) Federer didn't turn up to the Australian Open in January, or if some of the best horses didn't come to the Melbourne Cup," Walker said in a radio interview Friday.
"It's the same scenario. The superstars sell tickets and if you don't have the superstars then ticket sales sag a bit."
On Thursday in Nuerburgring, Germany, Formula One's leading teams including Ferrari revived their threat to form a breakaway series despite the sport's governing body insisting that a deal to end the long-running saga over regulations could be reached in days.
A deal was thrown into doubt again Wednesday when the Formula One Teams Association walked out of a meeting with the FIA after being told they had not been entered into the 2010 championship and would have no say in finalizing cost-cutting measures.
In negotiating a solution last month, the teams signed on to reduce costs to 1990s levels if 69-year-old FIA head Max Mosley agreed to stand aside until his term ended in October.
FIA said Thursday that Mosley had twice made Ferrari president Luca di Montezemelo aware that the five teams who had signed up unconditionally to 2010 regulations - Williams, Force India, US F1, Campos Meta and Manor Grand Prix - would set cost-cutting rules for next year.
Ferrari, McLaren, Renault, Toyota, Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Brawn GP all lodged conditional entries that they considered validated once they were admitted, which would allow them to vote.
When a solution was apparently negotiated in June, Walker said he was pleased that the Australian race, which had a downturn in attendance this year, would have the best teams in 2010.
"In our contract it is pretty clear that we have to have 16 cars in the grid and I don't think the government would want lesser names than Ferrari, BMW, Mercedes and Renault racing cars here," Walker said in a statement then.
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