The longer FOTA delay in starting up a rival series; the more the ball moves in the FIA's court. But at the same time the FIA need to make a decision to allow the new teams time to get it together before next March. The longer this dispute goes on; the more fans that will simply give up on either series!
I don't think that FOTA delaying moves the ball into the FIA's court. I believe that it will be easier and quicker for FOTA to create a breakaway series than it would be for the FIA to replace the FOTA teams to create a viable championship.
I doubt that FOTA can't throw a 15 - 18 race calendar, sponsorship, rules and technical regulations and commercial TV and press deals together in a matter of months. It seems like an awful lot to put together in that time frame; unless of course they have the backbone already in place ready for a split! But as
brentrh pointed out; the big loser will be the fans as we are looking at repeating mistake of the Indy/CART split and allowing F2 or A1GP to become the dominant force in motorsport! Manufacturers are too fickle to stick around if it doesn't benefit their commercial interests, which is why I believe that any manufacturer championship is doomed!