Bernie Ecclestone made an emotional vow last night to end the conflict that has torn Formula One in two.

In an exclusive interview with The Times, the sport’s commercial impresario spelt out his determination to stop the “Breakaway Eight” of teams from walking out of Formula One to set up a rebel series next year.

Ecclestone, clearly shattered by a tumultous four days of political intrigue that threatens catastrophic damage to his $1 billion-a-year (about £600 million) empire, said: “I have given 35 years of my life and more to Formula One. My marriage broke up because of Formula One, so I am sure as hell not going to let things disintegrate over what is, in the end, basically nothing. If you analyse the problems, there aren’t any that can’t be easily solved.”

Support has poured in for the eight members of the Formula One Teams Association (Fota), who have decided to split from the Ecclestone establishment after failing to agree new rules for the future of the sport. There was no greater demonstration than from the 128,000 fans who packed into Silverstone yesterday for the British Grand Prix.

They had come not only to welcome home Jenson Button, the local hero leading the World Championship, but also to pay homage to Silverstone at what they thought was the final grand prix at the famous Northamptonshire circuit. Button failed to oblige with a victory, the Brawn GP driver trailing home a disappointing sixth, his worst finish of the season, after winning six of the first seven races.

But the crowd were happy to adopt a new hero, Sebastian Vettel, who won for Red Bull Racing, a team based only 15 minutes down the road in Milton Keynes. Vettel was moved by the reception and revealed that he had dreamt of winning the British Grand Prix since he was a child.

“When I looked left and right, people were clapping and people stood up in the grandstands,” the 22-year-old said. “This was what I was dreaming about when I saw my first British Grand Prix in the era of Nigel Mansell.”

While it was a dream for Vettel, it had threatened to be a nightmare for Silverstone after Ecclestone handed the race contract to Donington from next year.

If the teams viewed the decision as another example of the shifting sands of governance that triggered rebellion, the drivers were united in their condemnation.

“Silverstone is an incredible track,” said Mark Webber, the Australian, who finished second to his Red Bull team-mate. “It is a brilliant place for a Formula One car and it destroys a lot of the new venues that have been picked for us in the last few years.”

From Turkey a fortnight ago, where 20,000 spectators rattled around in eerily deserted stands, to a colourful Silverstone, with standing room only. Ecclestone must have taken note, suddenly deciding that he wants Silverstone to stage the 2010 race, after all.

But the political intrigue will not be dealt with so quickly. Max Mosley, the controversial president of the FIA, the world governing body of motor sport, has pulled back from the brink of tipping the sport into a series of damaging court actions this week after threatening to start a $1 billion legal war against the rebels.

Mosley was engaged in a furious bout of pitlane diplomacy right up to the start of the race to avert a walkout that would include the best teams on the grid — from yesterday’s winning Red Bull team, to Button’s Brawn GP, Ferrari, McLaren Mercedes, BMW Sauber, Toyota, Renault and Toro Rosso. The cause was probably not helped after Mosley called some team principals “loonies” in an interview.

Ecclestone was busy reassuring CVC Capital Partners, the private equity fund that owns Formula One’s commercial rights, which has also been rattled by the rebellion.

Fota has established a working group to start planning for next year and circuits around the world have been in touch with offers to stage races for the rebel series, while it is thought that at least two new teams, who had applied to join Formula One next year, are defecting to the breakaway group.

Frantic phone calls over the weekend from FIA officials were aimed at rounding up potential replacement teams for next year, but their cause was not helped when Mosley labelled some of the Fota team principals “loonies” on the eve of the race.

Mosley and Ecclestone have until the end of next month to head off the crisis, because that is when the teams will press the accelerator on plans. It could mean that yesterday was, after all, the final British Grand Prix at Silverstone in its traditional guise — but just for Ecclestone and Mosley.