Monaco’s ruler Prince Albert II has issued a dire warning about the risk of Ferrari quitting Formula One over a dispute about the direction that the sport is going in.

The 60-year-old monarch is on first name terms with all of F1’s powerbrokers and has a tremendous knowledge of it thanks to his family ruling the principality where the sport’s most famous race takes place.

“It’s true that Ferrari and Monaco are the two most important things to F1,” he told The Independent. “There is such a history and such a mystique around the name of Ferrari and the success that it has had. The whole imagery and legend of the red cars and what they mean to the world of automobiles and racing itself. It is hard to imagine F1 without them.”

F1 Australian Grand Prix in pictures Show all 25 1 / 25 F1 Australian Grand Prix in pictures F1 Australian Grand Prix in pictures Friday Practice The Royal Australian Air Force's Roulettes perform ahead of practice. Getty F1 Australian Grand Prix in pictures Friday Practice The Royal Australian Air Force's Roulettes fly over the start-finish straight. Getty F1 Australian Grand Prix in pictures Friday Practice Lewis Hamilton climbs into Mercedes for first practice in Melbourne. Getty F1 Australian Grand Prix in pictures Friday Practice Max Verstappen gets in early laps on Friday morning. Getty F1 Australian Grand Prix in pictures Friday Practice Force India's Esteban Ocon runs off at the first corner but recovers to the track. Getty F1 Australian Grand Prix in pictures Friday Practice Hamilton heads out for his first run on Friday. Getty F1 Australian Grand Prix in pictures Friday Practice Valtteri Bottas also went off at the first corner but managed to avoid the barriers. Getty F1 Australian Grand Prix in pictures Friday Practice Fernando Alonso's session was hampered by an exhaust problem. Getty F1 Australian Grand Prix in pictures Friday Practice Sebastian Vettel was half-a-second off the pace as he ended the day in fifth. Getty F1 Australian Grand Prix in pictures Friday Practice Verstappen took the fight to Hamilton as he finished Friday's running fewer than two-tenths behind the world champion. Getty F1 Australian Grand Prix in pictures Friday Practice Hamilton topped both sessions as he laid down an early marker. Getty F1 Australian Grand Prix in pictures Saturday practice Albert Park hosts the opening grand prix of the year Getty F1 Australian Grand Prix in pictures Saturday qualifying Valtteri Bottas crashed after running wide at turn one EPA F1 Australian Grand Prix in pictures Saturday qualifying Hamilton clinched pole position for the Australian Grand Prix Getty F1 Australian Grand Prix in pictures Saturday qualifying Hamilton took his 73rd career pole position Getty F1 Australian Grand Prix in pictures Saturday qualifying Sebastian Vettel could only manage third position as Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen clinched second Getty F1 Australian Grand Prix in pictures Saturday qualifying Hamilton celebrates his pole position as he pulls up on the start-finish straight. Getty F1 Australian Grand Prix in pictures Saturday qualifying Hamilton has won twice at Melbourne in the past. Getty F1 Australian Grand Prix in pictures Saturday qualifying Hamilton relaxes after qualifying on pole position for the Australian Grand Prix Getty F1 Australian Grand Prix in pictures Saturday qualifying Vettel and Hamilton joked with each other throughout the post-qualifying press conference Getty F1 Australian Grand Prix in pictures Sunday Race Hamilton started the race on pole AFP F1 Australian Grand Prix in pictures Sunday Race Hamilton has won twice at Melbourne in the past AFP F1 Australian Grand Prix in pictures Sunday Race Vettel vaulted Hamilton during the safety car period Getty F1 Australian Grand Prix in pictures Sunday Race Vettel celebrates his win Getty F1 Australian Grand Prix in pictures Sunday Race Hamilton looks on as Vettel soaks up the acclaim in Melbourne AFP

His comments follow Sunday’s season-opener in Melbourne which was won by Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel thanks to a clever pit stop strategy after Romain Grosjean’s Haas stopped on lap 24.

The race was overshadowed by political wrangling between the teams and F1’s new owner Liberty Media. It bought the sport for £5.7bn last year and has already shaken it up by ejecting Bernie Ecclestone after 40 years in the driving seat, revving up F1’s marketing and boosting the razzmatazz with boxing announcer Michael Buffer calling out the names of the drivers at the start of the United States Grand Prix.

Liberty’s next manoeuvre is expected to involve levelling out the teams’ prize money and introducing a cap on their budgets. It has fuelled concerns from the top teams in particular as they get a greater share of the spoils and outspend their rivals in a bid to win.

Ferrari’s prize money bonus is the most turbocharged with £80m guaranteed before a race begins giving it an estimated total of £160m last year. Its chairman Sergio Marchionne has repeatedly threatened to start a rival series if Liberty makes drastic changes to F1 and on Thursday Ferrari’s team boss Maurizio Arrivabene warned that he is not bluffing. “Our chairman knows what he is talking about and should be taken seriously,” he said.

Vettel on the podium ( Getty )

It was echoed by Toto Wolff, boss of reigning champions Mercedes which also has a lot to lose from a budget cap and reduction in prize money bonuses as it was paid a total of around £120m last year.

“I agree with most of the things Sergio says because Formula One has a certain DNA and it is a sport that needs to stick to its roots,” said Wolff in Melbourne. “The perspective of doing something else is a realistic one, and it could happen if we don’t achieve to align our vision.”

Prince Albert, whose late mother Grace Kelly was a Hollywood actress in the 1950s, says he approves of the gloss Liberty has given to F1. “I think this new emphasis on more communication and a show is good for the overall image. Of course it complicates the procedures a bit but I think it’s interesting, especially to attract a new public and have more exposure to different markets, different age groups and different levels.

“F1 has to keep appealing to sports fans and not only to motor racing fans but to possibly a wider public...I don’t know if it’s only social media or different electronic devices that will do that. How to establish more of a personal link to the drivers and to the teams - these are things that you have to think of.”

As an environmentalist, Prince Albert was one of the earliest supporters of the electric-powered series Formula E which launched in 2014 and also holds a race in Monaco. He says that it is on track to become a close competitor to F1.

“I think there is space for both F1 and Formula E. Of course there is a great nostalgia that goes around the historic formula, and that is very much a part of the history we try to showcase in Monaco. But I think certainly, in terms of interest, it will take a few years but it will slowly become a rival, especially if big name drivers join the formula.”

Formula E recently unveiled its new car which will be introduced later this year and will be able to complete a full race distance with a single battery for the first time. Improvements like this filter down to road cars and Prince Albert says that is Formula E’s real success.