Max Mosley has rejected claims by eight of the 10 Formula 1 teams that they will set up a breakaway series next year as "posing and posturing".

President of governing body the FIA, Mosley said he will start legal action against teams umbrella group Fota.

But he added in an exclusive BBC Sport interview: "We all know that there will be an F1 world championship and everyone who can be in it, will be."

Red Bull boss Christian Horner said the two sides had reached a "stalemate".

Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull, Toro Rosso, Toyota, Renault, Brawn and BMW Sauber issued their threat late on Thursday evening.

An FIA statement on Friday afternoon said Fota's actions amounted to "serious violations of law including wilful interference with contractual relations, direct breaches of Ferrari's legal obligations and a grave violation of competition law".

The statement added that the 2010 F1 entry list, which the FIA had planned to publish on Friday, would be "put on hold while the FIA asserts its legal rights".

That decision gives all parties room for manoeuvre as they search for a compromise on the issue.

"Always with these things in the end there's a compromise," Mosley said. "They can't afford not to run in F1 and we would be very reluctant to have an F1 world championship without them." ........