FIA president Jean Todt has pledged to cut engine costs in order to ease the burden on Formula One's smaller teams.
The introduction of the current V6 turbo power units in 2014 saw engine bills double for some customers and contributed to Caterham and Manor entering administration last year. Midfield teams Force India, Lotus and Sauber have warned of the financial struggles they face under the current engine regulations and Todt is determined to use his power as FIA president to lower their bills.
"I do agree that it's too expensive," Todt told selected media in Paris. "Here I take the responsibility for probably not having secured that it would be a maximum cost to the customers. It's something we are going to address. It's better late than never, but we are going to address the cost for the customers.
"We are going to discuss it. I am a realist, so I want to make sure that what we do, we can do it. If we do something and we can do it, I want to make sure that I'm here, so I need some good advisors - of which I did a good job [employing] - so if we were to be challenged we can go through the challenge. So it's something we are going to address.
"If Formula One has a headache, we need to define what is a good prescription. So if somebody says to me a good prescription is to get rid of these engines, I don't agree. I agree that they're too expensive but I do say that it was the right thing to have these engines."
On top of controlling costs, the grid's smaller outfits have also been lobbying for a bigger slice of F1's commercial revenues in order to readdress the uneven division of the prize money from the Commercial Rights Holder. But Todt says it is not in his jurisdiction to change the distribution of revenues and points to bi-lateral agreements all the teams signed up to with F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone after the last Concorde Agreement expired.
"You hear teams complaining about the cost of Formula One. I'm a person who considers Formula One is too expensive, but, saying that, Formula One now is less expensive than it was ten years ago. Now new agreements have been signed, and signed by everybody, incidentally. They are much more favourable to some teams than to some other teams, so we are facing people who are very happy to have signed, and we are facing people who are very unhappy to have signed. Saying that, there is a common thing: they have all signed.
"I wasn't involved, and rightly so. The FIA is not involved. I am happy to take all the responsibility I need to take as president of the federation, but they all accepted and they were happy, at least I don't know if they were happy but they signed. Now they are not happy."
Todt wants the midfield teams to remain in F1, but says their destiny is in their own hands, not his.
"It's not in my hands. This is why we were so supportive of Manor to stay, I hate to see somebody leave. For me it was a disappointment to see Caterham leaving. Maybe they underestimated what F1 was. People think 'Let's go, we have money to do this', it's not true. So, the competition is very difficult, very tough and to get to be competitive is very difficult. When you are competitive, to stay competitive is difficult. That is why it is unfair when people say it is so easy for Mercedes, they do a great job, it is the only thing you can say.
"I really hope that Lotus, Force India, Renault, Manor can stay, but it is not in my hands. What is unfair that they say, they know it is F1, they knew when they accepted a deal that was not as favourable to them than some others, what the cost is of F1, maybe they underestimated the sponsors. It is very difficult. I have been trying to find some sponsors with some success, but sometimes I didn't have success and I was representing, at the time the biggest brand in F1. To find money is difficult. Those things are very competitive and challenging, but I think it is unfair to take, I would say, 'fake reasons' to explain why you are not happy, why you want to go, why you cannot stay. They may be reasons, but at least we should really say 'I want to win... I cannot win, I am going to leave'."