Formula One: Mosley to Face Drivers As Us Row Escalates

Max Mosley, the FIA president, will meet members of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association at Silverstone on Friday in an attempt to tackle concern over the governing body's handling of events at the US grand prix at Indianapolis.

Over the French grand prix weekend, the GPDA took centre stage after not only disagreeing with the sport's governing body but also after tensions developed between certain members and their president Michael Schumacher.

It has emerged that, on the eve of last Wednesday's World Motor Sport Council meeting, Mosley contacted David Coulthard to express his dismay at the Scottish driver's stance over the Indianapolis tyre debacle.

"I can confirm that there was contact," said the FIA spokesman Richard Woods yesterday. "There was a frank exchange of views and Max has agreed to meet the drivers in an effort to address their concerns."

Mosley was apparently annoyed at Coulthard's frank criticism of the failure to find a solution to the problem, which prevented the seven Michelin teams from racing in the US.

Coulthard's signature was at the top of a document handed to the governing body offering their full support to Michelin's decision not to race and this may have led Mosley to assume that the Red Bull driver was the instigator.

According to some drivers who attended a meeting at Magny-Cours, Michael Schumacher was in a minority in refusing to support a GPDA statement that criticised the governing body and Mosley for his trenchant stance.

Schumacher apparently remained insistent that the difficulties with the circuit at Indianapolis amounted to a "technical and not a safety issue".

It was apparently the original intention for the drivers to put out a joint statement after the French grand prix, but Coulthard said that nothing further would be discussed until the meeting with Mosley.

The fear now is that the issue may serve only to further raise the temperature in an already bitterly divided sport.