ANALYSIS - Formula One stands on the brink

By Alan Baldwin

SILVERSTONE, England (Reuters) - Formula One stands on the brink on Friday unsure whether it is going to tear itself apart or move towards a united future.

Which way it will go, with five of the current teams facing a deadline to sign up unconditionally for 2010 or risk being excluded, is the billion dollar question that nobody can answer with any certainty.

The likelihood that the teams would refuse to bow to the demands of the governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) appeared very real at the British Grand Prix on Thursday with at least two clearly determined to give no ground.

The consequences of that happening would likely be far-reaching.

If the five -- Brawn, BMW-Sauber, McLaren, Renault and Toyota -- are then replaced by would-be new entrants waiting in the wings, a threatened rival series looks very much on the cards.

Both sides have been waging a war of letters and statements for weeks and, despite attempts to reach a last-ditch deal, appeared as entrenched as ever.

The eight-member teams' association FOTA want significant change to the governance of the sport and see FIA president Max Mosley, who is up for re-election in October but has yet to announce whether he is standing, as the major obstacle.

The FIA has accused the FOTA teams, led by champions Ferrari, of wanting to run the sport.