Formula One:FIA president Max Mosley and the Formula One Teams' Association (Fota) will stage a further round of talks in Monaco tomorrow in a bid to bring an end to the current row tearing the sport apart. At the end of a marathon seven hours of discussions, initially among the team principals and then with Mosley, the deadlock has yet to be broken.
Mosley at least offered a positive outlook by conceding he is "always hopeful and confident there will be an agreement", and the likelihood is it will be at some stage this weekend.
"It was a constructive meeting, we spent three hours, and there are ongoing discussions," said Mosley as he emerged from the Automobile Club de Monaco that sits on the start/finish straight.
The suggestion is a 'glide-path' budget cap could be introduced to arrive at the €45million figure by 2012, rather than with immediate effect for next season.
That would appease all the teams as Ferrari president and Fota chairman Luca di Montzemolo conceded earlier in the day that "common ground" had been reached between the 10 marques and a final proposition would be put to Mosley today.
That statement followed a two-and-a-half hour Fota meeting aboard Renault team principal Flavio Briatore's multi-million pound yacht, Force Blue, moored in the Monte-Carlo harbour.
Di Montezemolo suggested in the wake of that discussion, the second of the day for Fota after an earlier breakfast get-together, they were heading into their showdown with Mosley with a final proposal.
Having presented that to Mosley he emerged, flanked by all the team principals, and said: "It was a long and constructive meeting.
"Fota will have another meeting tomorrow, and then there will be another meeting with Mosley.
"What we want is that Formula One stays as Formula One, and that it doesn't become something different and go towards constant changes which confuse the public and all the others.
"What we want is stability and that we work over the next two years to arrive at a way of further reducing costs."
The latter comment makes clear Ferrari's determined position, that time is the best way to ease into Mosley's previously hardball budget cap stance.
Di Montezemolo's assertion that all 10 teams are now behind Ferrari could lead to a case of one out, all out, if no resolution is found.
It is clear Mosley's governance of F1 also remains a thorny issue, in particular the unilateral way he forced through the new rules without consulting the teams.
"We have this governance,” di Montezemolo added. "So we have to discuss the possibility of changing the situation in a constructive, but in a very clear way, because we want Formula One. We don't want something else."
Nick Fry was the only team member to offer an opinion on the day's events, Brawn GP's CEO indicating the prospect of a resolution at some stage this weekend.
"It's all good progress and we go to the next level of discussion," said Fry.
"Proposals were made on both sides and common ground was found, so I'm sure there will be more discussion, and I think we'll be done this weekend."