Drivers back Ferrari pullout

Ferrari drivers Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen have both backed the team's decision to pullout of Formula One if rules changes are not overturned.

The Scuderia warned on Tuesday they would not enter F1 in 2010 under the FIA's present regulations, meaning the end of the drivers' multi-million pound contracts to race for the sport's most famous name.

However, Massa, who lost the 2008 world championship to Lewis Hamilton by a single point, described FIA plans to introduce a voluntary spending cap as "absurd".

"I understand the motivation, why the company got to this point," Massa said.

"The idea of having a Championship with two velocities, with cars, which for example are allowed to have flexible wings or an engine without a rev limiter, is absurd.

"Since I was a child Ferrari has been the synonym for racing for me; that's why I'm convinced that even if the Scuderia is forced to leave Formula 1, there will be other competitions where it will be possible to admire them on the track."