Teams are 'not' anti-Ferrari

McLaren boss Ron Dennis and Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone both insist that they want Ferrari to join up to the scheme, even though agreement for the rules was reached without any involvement from the Italian outfit. It came after a similar cost-cuts meeting in Brazil that took place without Ferrari prompted talk from sporting director Jean Todt that the outfit was being frozen out of the developments.

Speaking to autosport.com after Tuesday's breakthrough meeting at Heathrow, which Ferrari's key personnel could not attend because of personal reasons, Dennis said: "We will give Ferrari every opportunity to participate. They were not excluded from today's meeting - they declined to attend."

Dennis wants to make it absolutely clear that the move to limit testing, something Ferrari is staunchly against because it owns two test tracks, is being put in place not to hinder the current dominant team but to try and improve F1.

"The steps we have taken are to reduce our costs and improve the show," said Dennis. "If they [Ferrari] don't want to reduce their costs and improve the show then that is a decision they have to take.

"We are not against anybody - what we are for is improving the show and reducing our costs. It is as simple as that. And we will welcome everybody having the same opinions - there is nothing we have done that is detrimental to any individual team - or excludes any individual team."

Ecclestone himself is optimistic that Ferrari will actually join up to the scheme because they will realise that the costs of competing in F1 are getting too high. The teams have so far agreed to reduce testing by 50 per cent and make moves towards a single tyre formula.

"I think they will come," he said. "I think they will appreciate that there is a necessity to reduce the costs of being competitive in F1 and to give a better show."

Ecclestone also confirmed that the absence of Ferrari from the crucial second costs cuts meeting in Interlagos was a genuine mistake - caused in part by the confusion going on in the Ferrari pits following Michael Schumacher's practice accident on Saturday morning.

"We had two meetings in Brazil, one everyone was there and for the second one I said to someone to tell everyone there was going to be a meeting," he added. "The person in the end, after interrogation, confessed that they forgot Ferrari - and the reason was there was the accident with Schumacher and with all the commotion they forgot to go back.

"Todt said that we made decisions because he wasn't there, but that wasn't true. Nobody is plotting against Ferrari."