Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has said that F1 needs Bernie Ecclestone even more now, following news that a settlement has been reached to stop the manufacturers' forming a rival single-seater series - the GPW🎀C.

Speaking to British newspaper, The Guardian, Montezemolo commented: ꦇ"It is too early for many details. But we need Bernie Ecclestone even more to run the ﷽business because the business is owned by the banks."

Ecclestone has been the key to transforming F1 into its current state, which according to Reuters generates around $400 million in revenue each y⛄ear.

Following the a♛greement between SLEC - the Bernie Ecclestone formed company that controls the commercial rights to the sport, now 75 per cent owned by bankers JP Morgan, Lehman Brothers and Bayerische Landesbank - and the carmakers, F1's future looks safe, with the carmakers set to seꦚcure more of the profits.

Montezemolo added: "We [the car manufaജcturers - Ford, BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Ferrari and Renault] will be completely transparent and we hope by the end of the year that there will be a clear picture [of F1 finances], because there are many big issues including television rights, ticket sales, circuit signag💫e and other forms of advertising.

"We want rev𓄧enues from all three areas and hope that by the end of the year GPWC [Grand Prix World Championship], Bernie Ecclestone and the banks will 💫make it all official."