Following this week's news that Indian giant Tata is to sponsor Ferrari, there is growing concern that this might be at the expense of the British taxpayer.

Much like car manufacturers in the US, in Britain, Jaguar and Land Rover are both seeking financial assistance as the global financial crisis continues to bite.

Thing is, both are owned by Tata and both were bought at what one might call a knock down price earler this year.

Now, however, Tata is seeking financial assistance from the British government, and while Gordon Brown will not want to be seen throwing many thousands of motor industry workers on to the scrapheap, there would be a public outcry if the beleaguered British taxpayer was to be seen bailing out a foreign company, especially when so many home-grown companies are struggling..

There was outrage a couple of months back when the British government revealed it was giving £825m as part of a three-year programme to help India's poor at a time when the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was on the verge of launching its first unmanned moon mission (Chandraayan-1).

While British race fans fear for the future of the British Grand Prix, the government having made it quite clear that it will not intervene with financial support for the event, the thought of subsidising a foreign car manufacturer that would in turn sponsor Ferrari, might be just too much to bear.