The FIA has responded to the statement issued by the board of Ferrari in which it claimed it could pull out of Formula One if a spec-engine was introduced into the sport.

Following a meeting of its board of directors, the Scuderia issued a statement on Monday evening in which it said it would 'have to re-evaluate, with its partners the viability of continuing its presence in the sport' if the spec-engine was introduced – a move which would detract from the very raison d'etre of F1.

However, in its response to the Ferrari statement, the FIA reiterated that the idea of bring in a spec-engine was one of a number of options put to the competing teams in an effort to bring down expenditure from its current unsustainable level.

"The FIA has noted the press statement issued by the Ferrari Board of Directors," the statement from the governing body read.

"It seems the Ferrari Board were misinformed. The FIA has offered the teams three options, one of which is the so-called standard engine, and another that the manufacturers should jointly guarantee to supply power trains to the independent teams for less than €5m per season.

"The FIA is delighted by Ferrari's financial success and hopes this will be maintained. However a number of teams find themselves facing costs which greatly exceed income. This is not sustainable."

The statement added that it was down to the teams to either agree to one of the options or make their own cost-cutting suggestions, with the FIA warning that failure to reach an agreement would lead to the governing body doing 'whatever proves necessary' to ensure that F1 remains a credible world championship.

"It is now for the manufacturers to agree one of the three FIA options or themselves produce concrete proposals to reduce costs to a sustainable level," it continued. "If neither happens, the FIA will take whatever measures prove necessary to preserve a credible world championship for both drivers and constructors."