Wednesday 3 June at 14:30 : Jun.3 (GMM) Toyota wants to commit to formula one until "at least the end of the 2012 season", team president John Howett insisted on Wednesday

Amid the Japanese marque's hard-line stance in the FIA/FOTA battle, the potential withdrawal of the Toyota-owned venue Fuji Speedway, and even a sale of some of the Cologne based team's used parts, speculation has recently steadily increased that Toyota's life-expectancy on the grid may be looming

But in a team-distributed interview on Wednesday, Howett said he hopes the conflict with the governing FIA will be resolved soon

"We have consistently said we want to continue to participate in formula one and if our conditional entry is accepted we will commit to the sport until at least the end of the 2012 season

"If and when that happens, the unfounded rumours surrounding our future should stop," said the Briton

The FOTA alliance, whose vice-chairman is Howett, is demanding that the FIA repeals the announced 2010 rules, signs the Concorde agreement before June 12, and agrees to the group's own proposals for cost reductions