Formula One: Salary Cap Invites Derision

Toyota and Honda have lent their weight to the attempt by the world's leading car makers to shape the future of formula one, before a key meeting tomorrow with the FIA president Max Mosley in London.

The two Japanese manufacturers join BMW, DaimlerChrysler and Renault, among the founder members of the Grand Prix World Championship, in calling for a fairer and more transparent attitude to the sport's commercial and technical future. They apparently felt let down after Ferrari concluded their own exclusive deal with Bernie Ecclestone, the formula one commercial rights holder, under the terms of a new agreement from 2008 to 2012 guaranteeing Ferrari an extra $100m of income.

The statement from the five car makers pledged that they would work to provide "the basis of a long-term plan for the prosperity of grand prix racing and all its stakeholders, including teams, sponsors, and circuits". They also committed themselves to develop a sport which "attracts, excites and provides good value to fans globally and is open, transparent and fair in commercial, technical and sporting governance."

This unified stance suggests that the car makers will not be hurried into agreeing dramatic rule changes for 2008 despite Mosley's warnings that those teams who do not attend tomorrow's meeting risk missing the opportunity to table their views on technical regulations by the end of this year.

"The FIA is itself fully capable of arriving at solutions to these problems but would much prefer to do so in close consultation with those of the teams who wish to participate," said Mosley yesterday. One of the more unlikely ideas for future cost-cutting is the suggestion of a salary cap to curb spiralling expenses.

The German driver Nick Heidfeld finished his final test for the Williams-BMW team at Valencia yesterday three-tenths of a second faster than Antonio Pizzonia, his rival for the second seat alongside Mark Webber. Frank Williams will decide who gets the drive on Sunday, on the eve of the launch of the Williams FW27 at the Spanish track.