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Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has called for teams to use a standard engine from 2010 as part of draconian measures to cut costs and ensure the sport's survival.

"The thing I am most excited about is pushing and pushing and pushing the homologated engine idea," Ecclestone was quoted as saying in Thursday's edition of the Times newspaper.

"The new engine will be equalised and there will only be two engine changes a year, so costs are going to dramatically come down, and I mean dramatically."

The Times said commercial rights holder Ecclestone and International Automobile Federation (FIA) president Max Mosley were drawing up a 'survival' plan that included standard engines that would each last for half a season.

At present there is a freeze on engine development and the units, which represent a significant part of teams' expenditure, must last for two successive races.

The newspaper said the proposal was for each team to build their own engine to a standard design. Teams without manufacturer support would get theirs from an independent contractor.

The idea will be controversial in a sport that is as much a technological battlefield between major car manufacturers as drivers.

Mosley has said the sport is becoming unsustainable and warned earlier in the week that the global credit crunch was only making the situation worse.

"It really is a very serious situation. If we can't get this (cost cutting measures) done for 2010, we will be in serious difficulty," he told the BBC on Tuesday.

Mosley is due to sit down with the teams after this month's Chinese Grand Prix to discuss how to slash spending by 2010.

(Source: Reuters)