FOTA seeking 'sensible governance'

With the FIA having given FOTA members just seven days to drop the conditions attached to their 2010 entries or risk being left out in the cold, Howett says there are still big concerns that go beyond just cost-cutting rules.

"What we want primarily is a sensible basis of governance, so that the regulations are not changed willy nilly, that there in involvement of the teams in a proper process adopted, and that process is not deviated from," Howett told Radio 5 Live on Friday.

"And secondly we do feel that there is a risk of involving financial forensic control in the sporting regulations and deciding a championship."

Howett insists that FOTA does not want to seize control of the sport, and is keen to work in any way possible that helps secure the future of F1 - and encourages new teams.

"It is not about power and FOTA running the sport, we are saying we want a proper and balanced governance process," he said.

He added: "We welcome new teams. You have to say Brawn has done a fantastic job and without the support of McLaren and Mercedes they would not have been there.

"And there are other teams that get a lot of support from the manufacturers...and I do dispute strongly that we hold the sport to ransom. It is quite the opposite. We make huge effort to add value and to improve the total balance in the sport."

Howett said that FOTA was certainly unhappy that F1 was grabbing headlines now for all the wrong reasons.

"We are all very sad we are not focusing on racing and what is exciting about F1, and I really believe that the FOTA ambition is to improve F1 for the long term."