Toyota boss says F1 in very good shape

The start of the season has been somewhat overshadowed by the scandal involving FIA president Max Mosley, who is fighting to stay in office after revelations about his private life.

On the racing side, the grid has been reduced to ten teams after Super Aguri withdrew from the sport because of financial problems.

The field has been reduced to 20 cars in a year where 24 were expected, thanks to the entry of Prodrive, who decided against it over the customer car row.

Despite its problems, Howett is adamant Formula One is one of the strongest sports in the world.

"I truly believe that Formula One is generally in very good shape, scandals excluded," said Howett. "People have a tendency to talk down Formula One but we have one of the strongest and most popular sports in the world and I think it is more competitive now than it has been for a long while.

"If you look at the gap between teams, it is very close this year and that is something Formula One should be happy about."

Howett also reckons the sport is very strong financially despite Super Aguri's demise.

"Obviously the loss of Super Aguri was a shame but in general Formula One is commercially very strong; we have some of the biggest corporations in the world involved and the global reach is greater than all other sporting events, with the exception of quadrennial events such as World Cup football and the Olympics," he added.

"Formula One may not be perfect, it certainly can be improved, but it has plenty of reasons to be positive. Perhaps more focus should be placed on this."