Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

Formula 1 woke up this morning to an unfamiliar feeling - there has been a power struggle and lost.

Sure, the that ended the threat of eight of F1's 10 teams quitting the sport and racing in a breakaway championship next year can be dressed up as the president getting what he wanted - and Mosley himself tried to do just that on Wednesday - but the bottom line is that the 'rebel' teams prevailed on every one of their demands.

They objected to Mosley's in F1 - and there won't be one, or the two sets of rules that were part of it.

They wanted rules stability - they've got it.

They wanted a reinstatement of the , which governs F1 and, among other things, enshrines the role of the teams in the creation of the rules, and which Mosley allowed to lapse - and a new Agreement will be signed shortly.

And, although they did not say so publicly, they wanted Mosley out, having tired of what they saw as his autocratic and arbitrary governance - and he has agreed not to stand again for the FIA presidency when his term expires in October.

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Two big political stories were always going to dominate the Silverstone weekend - but the future of the British Grand Prix was mostly pushed to one side .

At least it was until Max Mosley, of all people, dropped a little bombshell into his interview with the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ.

After discussing the political crisis at length, the FIA president was asked his thoughts on it overshadowing the fact that this is, at least in theory, the last time Silverstone will host an F1 race for a very long time.

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The means the sport is set for a summer of intense political battles.

Despite the threat by the teams' umbrella group the Formula One Teams'
Association (Fota), the preferred conclusion for all parties remains an accommodation that would see all the current teams racing in F1 next year.

But Fota and Max Mosley, the president of F1's governing body, the , will be engaging in the mother of all power struggles before any compromise is reached.

As F1 reels from the fall-out of Fota's late-night announcement, then, it might be helpful to try to cut through the fog of and analyse where each side stands, and the strengths - or otherwise - of their position.

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As Formula 1 convenes at for this weekend's British Grand Prix, heads are spinning as people try to navigate their way through the latest developments in the political crisis that threatens to tear the sport apart.

Amid the mire of speculation, double-talk and untruths, though, one thing is abundantly clear - there is little prospect of an early end to this seemingly endless row over the future of F1.

On the face of it, the immediate issue is a deadline set by , the president of governing body the , for the end of business on Friday.

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It was never really in doubt which race we would end up choosing as our classic British Grand Prix pick - l's brilliant victory in 1987 stands out from the crowd.

Although we had rich pickings with events in 1981, 1998, 2003 and 2008, it was the overwhelming popular pick among respondents to this blog, and no wonder.

It was a brilliant drive by Mansell, the one where he truly consolidated his place in the hearts of the crowd and the British public at large.

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This year's will be a bitter-sweet occasion for many both inside and outside Formula 1.

Assuming everything goes to plan with the , this will be the last time contemporary F1 cars race in anger around this for at least a decade.

And even if Donington fail to get their race off the ground, there appears no way back for Silverstone - has made it clear that Britain will lose its grand prix before he takes it back to the Northamptonshire track.

So this seems an apposite time to celebrate the rich history of the British grand prix at Silverstone with the latest edition of our classic grands prix series.

Clearly, it was not the easiest decision to pick only five races to highlight.

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The has had only a short history but the four races hosted by the have provided plenty of drama.

As a preview for this weekend's race, where Brawn's is chasing a sixth win in seven grands prix this year, our pick for our classic Formula 1 series is the .

This was the only race in Turkey not won by Ferrari's , who triumphed in the succeeding three grands prix at a track that, despite its novelty, is already a firm favourite among the drivers.

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