Imposing a single or standardised engine for all cars would drive Ferrari out of the Formula 1 championship, the Italian team warned on Monday.
In a statement issued after a meeting of its board, chaired by Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, the Ferrari explained that forcing all teams to use standardised engines ''would deny Formula 1 of one of its reasons to exist: competition through technological development''.
This aspect of Gran Prix racing, the statement said, ''is one of the reasons why Ferrari has taken part in Formula 1 without interruption since the first world championship in 1950''.
''Should this no longer be a factor, the board reserves the right of evaluating, together with is partners, whether or not to remain in the sport,'' the statement said.
Ferrari stressed that it remained committed to ''a substantial and necessary reduction in costs'' for Formula 1, ''also in view of serious international economic crisis,'' but that at the same time it was ''extremely concerned'' over plans to adopt the same motor for all teams.
After first placing a 10-year freeze on developing new engines, the international racing federation FIA recently took steps to impose standard or ''same spec'' (specification) motors and gearboxes for all teams starting in 2010.
Aside from cutting costs for the smaller teams, the aim of the FIA move was to level the field for competition between the various teams on and off the track.
According to FIA, even before the recent financial crisis teams were spending far more than what they were earning and depended more and more on subsides from their parent companies, in Ferrari's case Fiat.
Now with the global crisis, FIA added, there was a real risk that parent companies like BMW, Mercedes and Honda would cut back or eliminate these handouts.
Formula 1 teams and parent companies are reported to be trying to be come up with an alternative to the FIA plan.
