Howett denies Toyota sure to exit F1
Multiple outfits are already threatening to quit over the Max Mosley dispute, but the FIA president said in Monaco that even if the rules were completely to their liking, they might still be planning to depart because of the global recession.
Top of the watch list is Toyota, whose leading figures were already warning before the start of the season that another year of failing to win would likely be terminal for the Cologne based outfit.
The local Cologne newspaper Express reports that Toyota, having put in a disastrous performance at Monaco, "has decided to exit formula one".
It is said that the Japanese marque is using the Mosley dispute as a reason to justify the decision.
Meanwhile, Germany's Auto Motor und Sport believes the decision had already been taken before a wheel turned in the 2009 season.
"I believe that is all spin," Toyota team president John Howett is quoted as saying by the Daily Telegraph. "It has been put there deliberately to create some more tension in the situation.
"I don't know the source, but I can only say in our case that there is a clear wish to enter next year's championship," he added.