If the FIA’s plan for a standard engine in Formula 1 is just their way of pushing the teams to finalise cost cutting measures, then they’re doing a good job of making people take it seriously.

Yesterday the FIA reiterated its intention, and revealed that there are several interested parties. It is believed, however, that current Formula 1 teams – as members of FOTA (Formula One Teams Association) – have agreed not to apply. It’s obvious that they’re not keen, and it’s becoming more obvious.

Most obvious of all is Ferrari, issuing an official statement on Monday making plain their feelings: a standard engine would make the board of directors “re-evaluate” the team’s involvement.

Toyota also commented, but in a less official manner, coming from team president John Howett rather than the corporate entity. The sentiment – “we don’t want a standard engine” – was clear, but he added that the decision would ultimately be taken by the board in Japan.

So what happens now? We sit, wait, and hope for a full-on war of words. Because that’d be a lot of fun.

UPDATE

The FIA has responded to Ferrari’s statement:

“It seems the Ferrari Board were misinformed. The FIA has offered the teams three options, one of which is the so-called standard engine, and another that the manufacturers should jointly guarantee to supply power trains to the independent teams for less than €5m per season.”

Well, that makes the FIA’s motives very clear: the threat of a standard engine is the FIA’s way of forcing the manufacturers to supply independent teams with cheaper engines.

Now: fight!