The business model of Formula 1 teams was redrawn on Thursday when the sport’s governing body, the Fédération de l’Automobile, announced it was introducing a budget cap of £40m from 2010. The maximum size of the field will be increased from 20 to 26 cars.

The intention of the cap is two-fold; to ensure that the sport does not lose any more teams, following Honda’s withdrawal in December, and to attract new teams to the grid.