F1 Technical Working Group meets today

Yesterday's statement by Toyota reads: "Toyota supports and appreciates any FIA initiatives aimed at reducing costs, increasing the safety and improving the excitement for spectators of Formula 1. In the absence of an agreement between the teams, Toyota welcomes the [FIA] proposals and will attend the meeting of the Technical Working Group in London on January 17, with the intent to positively contribute to the definition of the detailed rules. Toyota expects the FIA to be open-minded and to accept constructive proposals from the teams aimed to reduce costs, with no compromise for the drivers' safety."

BMW and Williams issued the following joint statement: "The BMW.WilliamsF1 Team is currently assessing the proposals. The majority of the proposals will be further clarified by the Technical Working Group meeting. It is not possible to offer a full response until this meeting has taken place. In the interim, the BMW.WilliamsF1 Team acknowledges the need in principle for substantive measures to ensure the continued viability of Formula 1. The BMW.WilliamsF1 Team awaits the outcome of the TWG meeting and the clarification that this will provide."

Todt told a media conference in Italy yesterday: "The proposals may appear provocative but they are going in the right direction. They should be implemented at the right time. You should not expect to see races at the start of the season without traction control and launch control. There are only two months to the start of the season, and that would be totally impossible.

"I don't know what the positions of the teams will be. Yesterday we saw the document, and tomorrow there will be a clearer understanding of what rules will be followed for 2003. When you look at the details, you can see it is not such a big revolution, but it is important to see when they will be implemented. There is a desire to cut costs but we have to be careful that the introduction of the changes does not actually incur additional costs."