Toyota committed to F1 until 2012

"The rumours about us leaving the sport have always been groundless," Howett was quoted as saying by Autosprint. "Having signed the Concorde Agreement, we are in it at least until 2012.

"We never received deadlines from Japan regarding the next two years."

Toyota team principal Tadashi Yamashina said earlier this year in the team's annual motorsport report that he had two more years to achieve success in Formula One.

"To become stronger it is more important to improve the level of organization in general rather than to rely on the power of one person," said Yamashina. "And my job is to mobilize the resources to achieve that.

"I have been given two more years. So, we will work and fight to make sure we prove ourselves in the 2008 season."

Yamashina said, however, that his words had been misinterpreted and insisted there are no ultimatums from Toyota.

"My words were misinterpreted," he was quoted as saying by the Italian magazine. "When I mentioned the two-year deadline to get results, it wasn't an ultimatum, I wasn't referring to Toyota's presence in F1, I was talking about the extent of my appointment."

Toyota, with one of the biggest budgets in the sport, are yet to win a race in Formula One.