Despite the current worldwide financial situation affecting all industries, including motorsport, Formula Master organisers can confirm that the future of the Series remains as solid as ever.

Plans confirmed for 2009 are entirely unaffected, with all races to be broadcast on the Eurosport platform, including Sunday races live on Eurosport International, and the Series' calendar to share rounds between the FIA World Touring Car Championship and Formula 1 World Championship.

Race weekends will follow a new points system, as previously announced, and the Formula Master car will be updated for the new season, aligning it to current Formula 1 designs and introducing a new technical aspect for teams and drivers.

"Clearly we were extremely sorry to hear that motorsport is suffering the effect of the financial crisis and that Formula 1 has lost such a prestigious and historical partner as Honda," said Formula Master General Manager Alessandro Alunni Bravi. "However, we would like to confirm that Honda's withdrawal from Formula 1 will not have any effect on the future of Formula Master.

"The Series, promoted by the MSC organisation, continues to operate in technical partnership with Tatuus (chassis), Mugen Euro and LRM (engines), Magneti Marelli (electronics and data acquisition) and Yokohama (tyres).

"In the current financial situation, Formula Master's goal to create and train capable and professional drivers for the higher echelons of motorsport, such as Formula 1, becomes even more crucial.

"We are working very hard to grant our drivers real and concrete career opportunities, as shown by the testing sessions in GP2 and Indy Lights, as well as in other top-level classes. We should be able to announce further news."