Speaking in London, FOTA chairman Martin Whitmarsh has revealed that the teams could block the introduction of an adjustable rear wing next season if they feel that the sport will not benefit from it.

Whitmarsh, who is also boss at McLaren, was speaking at a 'Fans Forum' in London, a hastily arranged session backed by Ferrari and McLaren sponsor Santander on behalf of the teams' alliance, whereby a number of fans could question several key figures in the F1 paddock including Lotus boss Tony Fernandes, veteran engineer Jock Clear and Ferrari's communications director Luca Colajanni.

Just one week ago, the World Motor Sport council agreed to the introduction of a new movable rear wing which can be adjusted in order to give cars more straight-line speed when pursuing a rival. The move is aimed at increasing overtaking and thereby adding to the spectacle, however, there are already doubts, both from fans and those within the paddock over safety, the fact that it appears to be just another gimmick and the (seemingly) over complicated set of circumstances before it can be called into use.

Asked about the introduction of the wing next season, Whitmarsh told the audience, which was comprised of fans and members of the media: "I think we've got to be careful. We could even just agree not to deploy it. I think we've got to decide carefully how we use a tool like that. I think we've got to look at it at the beginning of the year.

"Formula One has got to overcome this arrogance of saying 'We've had a great idea, all our ideas are great and we must never admit to having a bad one'," he continued. "If everyone builds it then you can then play with it and in early testing if the conclusion is this will not be to the benefit of the show, then we should just say don't use it."

Speaking after the event in Piccadilly, Whitmarsh seemed pleased with the way the event had gone, admitting that this is the beginning of a major change of attitude within the sport as it looks to the future.

"I think we've got to look at what is being invested back into the sport," he said. "There is no central marketing of Formula One at the moment which there clearly should be. There's lots of ideas and we've got to try and engage with all of the parties to make sure that we are collectively doing a better job to develop and improve our sport. Anyone who is involved in it has to say we can actually do a better job than we do at the moment; we can make the TV show better, we can use new media better and engage with fans more."