SHANGHAI - Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone on Saturday played down fears that major car manufacturers would pull out of the sport over the introduction of a standard engine.

Ecclestone said he "can't see any reason" why car-makers might leave over the plans, which he said would help them save money as the global economy stalls.

"I don't see why they should leave. We are saving them an awful lot of money, I hope. I don't see why they should," he said.

"Why should someone pull out because they are going to save a lot of money? All the technical things will still be there so they can show all their talents.

"What we want is to reduce the necessity to spend to be competitive. That is the simplest thing." The International Motoring Federation (FIA) ruling body this week announced plans to cut costs and standardise engines, following warnings from president Max Mosley that the sport would go bust in a year without drastic change.

FIA said it will be open to tenders for the standardised engine and transmission to be used from 2010.

"There is nothing surprising in this at all. Everyone knew it was coming and it is what we were all expecting," Ecclestone said of the plans.

"They want to get everyone to use homologated engines and I can't see any reason why they (manufacturers) would want to leave."

Formula One has seen many teams taken over by car-makers in recent years with Renault, BMW, Toyota and Honda joining Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz in using the sport as a showcase for their brands and cars.

This has also meant that there are very few of the traditional, independent 'privateer' racing teams left among the 11 teams in F1 as rising costs and the manufacturers' arrival has changed the face of the sport.