Toyota team president John Howett says teams threatening pullouts from Formula 1 over the budget cap issue just want to establish a correct basis of governance, but insists their intention is to remain in the sport.
Toyota, Ferrari, Red Bull and now Renault have threatened to leave Formula 1 if the FIA pushes ahead with its plans to introduce budget cap regulations. The teams are unhappy that there could be two sets of rules, and they have also expressed their disappointment at how the FIA introduced the regulations without the approval of the teams.
Howett said the way Ferrari expressed its concerns yesterday was a good reflection of what the other teams felt about the current situation. He insisted the teams' main priority is to find a proper way to introduce new regulations.
"I feel that Ferrari's statement eloquently summarizes the current struggle the Formula 1 teams are facing," said Howett. "If you consider the single thread running through all team's similar statements, it is a wish to establish a correct and proper basis of governance for the sport.
"There is clearly a genuine wish for all to continue to compete in Formula 1 but only if future stability is assured. To secure this, the priority for the future is a process of governance which ensures all competitors compete under the same rules, that the regulations are stable and which establishes a platform from which costs can be sensibly and actively reduced without destroying the core DNA of the sport."