Two-time champion Fernando Alonso is worried that Formula One racing will die out if leading teams pull out in a dispute over budget caps.

"`I'm worried that F1 might disappear," the Renault driver said on Wednesday ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix.

"If seven teams go, Formula One disappears. With unknown drivers, it's over. You'll lose the 10 best drivers in the world."

Alonso said the damage being done to the sport by the dispute was "incalculable."

"These days in my home, it was impossible to disconnect from this because I didn't know whether it would be my last time racing in Monaco," the Spaniard said. "I don't want to drive for a small team."

A number of independent teams have already expressed interest in signing up for 2010 under the proposed cap. They include Lola, USF1, Wirth Research, RML, Formtech, iSport, Campos Racing, Epsilon Euskadi and Litespeed.

"The drivers are hoping everything is settled in the next weeks," Alonso said.

"If not, Formula One is finished and the sport will turn into (feeder series) GP2 with a little more pace, but there won't be any interest in it as an event."

(AP via China Daily May 22, 2009)