Following a meeting of its board at Maranello, Ferrari has announced that it won’t lodge an entry into the 2010 Formula One World Championship unless plans for an optional £40 million budget cap are changed.

A statement issued by the Scuderia following the meeting revealed its objection to the plans put forward by FIA president Max Mosley, and stated that it will join Toyota and Red Bull in withdrawing from the sport if the budget cap is pushed through.

All three teams have expressed concern over the possibility of F1 becoming a two-tier championship if the budget cap is enforced, with teams adhering to the cap being given greater technical freedom compared to those that elect to spend an unrestricted amount.

“The decisions taken [during the World Motor Sport Council meeting on 29 April] mean that, for the first time ever in Formula 1, the 2010 season will see the introduction of two different sets of regulations based on arbitrary technical rules and economic parameters,” the statement read. “The Board considers that if this is the regulatory framework for Formula 1 in the future, then the reasons underlying Ferrari’s uninterrupted participation in the World Championship over the last 60 years – the only constructor to have taken part ever since its inception in 1950 – would come to a close.

“The same rules for all teams, stability of regulations, the continuity of the FOTA’s endeavours to methodically and progressively reduce costs, and governance of Formula 1 are the priorities for the future. If these indispensable principles are not respected and if the regulations adopted for 2010 will not change, then Ferrari does not intend to enter its cars in the next Formula 1 World Championship.”

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, who also leads FOTA, has openly criticised the proposed plans, with FIA chief Mosley responding by stating that Formula One would go on without Ferrari – although it would be ’sad’ to lose the team from the sport.

The statement from Ferrari further criticised Mosley and the FIA for the way in which the budget cap proposal has been handled, arguing that there should have been greater consultation with the teams.

“The Board also expressed its disappointment about the methods adopted by the FIA in taking decisions of such a serious nature and its refusal to effectively reach an understanding with constructors and teams,” it read. “The rules of governance that have contributed to the development of Formula 1 over the last 25 years have been disregarded, as have the binding contractual obligations between Ferrari and the FIA itself regarding the stability of the regulations.”

Di Montezemelo has now been instructed to look at alternative options for Ferrari’s racing activities if quitting Formula One becomes a reality.

“Ferrari trusts that its many fans worldwide will understand that this difficult decision is coherent with the Scuderia’s approach to motor sport and to Formula 1 in particular, always seeking to promote its sporting and technical values,” the statement concluded. “The Chairman of the Board of Directors was mandated to evaluate the most suitable ways and methods to protect the company’s interests.”

Toyota boss John Howett has spoken out in support of FOTA chairman Luca di Montezemolo is pursuit of a greater share of F1’s income.

Having confirmed that it has no intention of following Japanese rival Honda out of Formula One in the near future, Toyota has switched its focus to backing the campaign for a bigger slice of the sport’s financial pie.

Backing Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, team chief John Howett told Britain’s Times newspaper that it was time for a review of how F1’s income is divided up between the teams, the commercial rights holders and other interested parties, as it is felt that the Bernie Ecclestone-controlled Formula One Management takes too big a proportion and threatens the future of not only the sport’s participants, but also some of the long-standing events that make up its calendar.

“I think the majority position in [teams' association] FOTA is that people feel that the revenue for a modern professional sport is normally distributed more in favour of the participants than the property holder or the commercial rights-holder,” vice-chairman Howett pointed out, “People want to open that discussion and achieve a much more consistent balance with the status in many other professional sports.”

It is estimated that Ecclestone’s operation retains around half of all incomes generated by F1, with the rest divided between several groups, including the ten remaining teams according to how they have performed on track. However, with Super Aguri haven fallen by the wayside in May and Honda now having pulled the plug on its factory team, Howett – who repeated the claim that Toyota would continue despite its parent company looking set to post a rare operating loss – insisted that a revised share-out was needed.

“That is something we need to discuss and understand,” he said, pointing out the Howett, who said that Champions League competitors share out ‘upwards of 96-97 per cent of revenues, “What is the added value for the [FOM's] 50 per cent?. What is that bringing to us and does that enable us to enhance the business? If we want to see Formula One differentiated uniquely from a GP2-type series, there should be some reinvestment in the core infrastructure and participation in the sport.”

Formula One had been threatened with an increasing number of ’spec’ components in an effort to reduce the cost of competing, causing uproar amongst the bigger, manufacturer-backed, operations, who felt that their individuality – and the ability to exploit F1 for marketing purposes – was being distilled by a move to a GP2-style ’single make’ series.

Speculation remains that other teams could follow SAF1 and Honda out of the sport before the 2009 season starts in Australia next March, and Howett believes that Ecclestone – who, on Monday, revealed that Montezemolo’s Ferrari gets a bigger slice of the pie that its rivals – could be trying to undermine the new-found strength of unity achieved by the teams in opposition to some of the rule proposals aired of late.

“[Ecclestone] may be trying to [cause a schism within FOTA], but all the information that was given is very transparent and openly shared among the members, so it was a bit of a non-event because everybody is aware of the historic status [of Ferrari],” Howett insisted.

Ecclestone earlier claimed that Formula One had ‘bought’ Ferrari’s loyalty when it broke away from the manufacturers’ proposed rival to the top flight, with the Italian outfit ‘rewarded’ with a higher proportion of income that its peers.

Toyota yesterday reported that it is projecting an operating loss of $1.7bn for the fiscal year ending on 31 March 2009, and has slashed its global vehicle sales forecast by 700,000, blaming the current global economic crisis for the figures.

Ferrari admits it could consider its presence in Formula One if a spec-engine is brought into place.

The FIA’s controversial plans to bring a spec-engine into Formula One in 2010 could have hit a major stumbling block after Ferrari revealed that the move could lead to it considering its future in the sport.

In an effort to bring down escalating costs involved in the sport, FIA president Max Mosley made the surprising announcement prior to the Chinese Grand Prix that motorsports governing body was to open up a tender process to look for a ‘a third-party supplier of engines and transmission systems’ to be used by all teams in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

The FIA has since revealed that interested parties have made contact regarding the proposals, despite the competing teams being largely against the idea – which would remove one of the key competitive elements from the sport.

Indeed, following a meeting of it’s board, the Scuderia admitted that it had strong reservations about the spec-engine idea and would ‘reserve the right’ to consider its future in F1 if the rule was brought into play.

“The Board of Directors examined the proposed changes to the Formula 1 regulations, in the light of the current global economic crisis,” a statement issued by Ferrari read.

“Whilst reiterating its wholehearted commitment to a substantial and needed reduction in costs in Formula 1, starting with propulsion, the Ferrari Board of Directors expressed strong concerns regarding plans to standardise engines as it felt that such a move would detract from the entire raison of a sport with which Ferrari has been involved continuously since 1950, a raison d’etre based principally on competition and technological development.

“The Board of Directors expressed the opinion that should these key elements be diminished, it would have to re-evaluate, with its partners the viability of continuing its presence in the sport.”

If Ferrari, or any other team for that matter, did elect to leave F1 then it could lead to the very situation Mosley and the FIA were keen to avoid – where the loss of teams could lead to a situation where the grid would ‘cease to be credible’.

Kimi Raikkonen reflects that the F1 title race isn’t over, but soon will be if he doesn’t see his luck change.

Kimi Raikkonen has admitted that he needs a miracle if he is to successfully defend the Formula 1 drivers’ title after falling further off the championship pace during the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

The Finn has endured a difficult season which has yielded just two victories, the last of which came in Spain back in April. Raikkonen has also failed to score on five occasions, and didn’t trouble the scorers in the final three events of the European season – retiring with engine problems in Valencia, crashing out at Spa, and taking the flag outside the points in ninth at Monza.

It means he heads into the final four races of the season 21 points behind Lewis Hamilton in the standings, and although he came from behind to take the title last year ahead of Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, Raikkonen admitted it would be tough to make it happen again.

“This sport can be really hard to digest,” he said. “You push, you give it all, but it seems as if won’t go in the right direction. It’s been a long time without a win for me and even the list of races without points is growing.

“Five times, no points in the standings are really a lot: you don’t have to be Einstein to understand that this is not the right way to fight for the title.

“It’s not over yet, but now it will take a miracle, like one that makes lightning strike twice.”

Raikkonen admitted however that he was still as determined as ever to succeed and, armed with an extended Ferrari contact under his belt, would be looking to return to the top of the podium before the end of the season.

“Things are definitely not going my way,” he reflected. “Sometimes it happens, but that won’t lower my spirit or my determination: nevertheless I want to try to win again this season.