Despite the attempts to reduce spending in F1 - which so far only appear to have resulted in job cuts in terms of test team personnel - FIA President Max Mosley believes that the sport continues to live in a fool's paradise, spending money as though there is no tomorrow, despite the ongoing global economic crisis.

At a time when the FIA is seeking to reduce F1 budgets to the point that new teams will be encouraged into the sport, Mosley has hit out at the blase attitude that still exists within the F1 paddock when it comes to money.

"There is a predominant culture of wastefulness," he told Germany's Spiegel magazine. "The endeavour for success has succeeded over any kind of financial discipline. Formula One is becoming ridiculous.

"Costs must continue to be radically reduced by limiting the opportunities for technical innovation," he continued. "Maybe we could even turn things around completely and grant technical freedom while imposing limits to the budgets."

With the departure of Honda, attention switched to fellow-Japanese manufacturer Toyota, which recently announced the first trading loss in its history. Mosley fears that Honda will not be the last car giant to reconsider its F1 programme.

"The shares of Daimler are at an all-time low and Renault's are just over the 10 euro mark," he said. "What happens when people have to be made redundant? Can it still be justified investing so much money in Formula One?

"Nobody can rule out the possibility of having a fax land on the desk of a racing team's headquarters in the morning saying: Sorry, that's it," he warned.

While Mosley's warning must be heeded, it should not be forgotten how keen he was to see the manufacturers enter the sport in the first place, nor should it be forgotten that for many, KERS has driven up spending, all for a device that is obligatory and remains a serious doubt in terms of safety.