With Scuderia Toro Rosso and Super Aguri expected to exploit a loophole in the rules which will allow both teams to use chassis deigned by another team, BMW team boss Mario Theissen has voiced his concerns that such a move could prove damaging for the sport..

"There certainly is a debate about the legality of using cars not designed by their own team in 2007," said the German, following the launch of his own team's 2007 contender.

"To me, it's not so much of an issue," he continued, "my concern is not about 2007 but about the general rule of chassis sale in future. I expect a new breed of so-called independent teams to come up, teams who see the whole thing as a business case and team up with a strong manufacturer team in order to get the chassis and entire car for just a little money."

Theissen's comments come in the wake of Prodrive boss David Richards admission that he hopes to have a deal with one of the manufacturer teams when he enters F1 next season. With Prodrive looking for support in terms of its chassis and engines, many are wondering how the team got the coveted 'twelfth team' position, when there were other hopefuls with far better packages already in place.

"I'm not sure if this is really beneficial to Formula One," said Theissen. "If you imagine when the championship comes into the final phase, and only one driver in the team has a chance to become champion, a team could use three cars to support one driver. I think what we have now with 11 or 12 really independent teams is much better for the sport."