LONDON: BMW's exit from Formula One could have been avoided had some team bosses been less resistant to cost-cutting regulations, Formula One's governing body said on Wednesday.

In a statement, the International Automobile Federation (FIA) expressed regret but no surprise at the Munich-based carmaker's decision to leave at the end of the year.

"It has been clear for some time that motorsport cannot ignore the world economic crisis," the FIA said after BMW announced they would pull out at the end of 2009 as a team and engine supplier.