Maybe Ferrari refused to sign because they were not allowed to test at Fiorano anymore? That would cost Ferrari much since they wouldn't be able to operate it for the F1 department anymore.
As for the rules, they are plain stupid to me. that 2.4 V8 formula would mean almost every team needs to develop such an engine which won't reduce costs in the first place. The two race engine is a joke, IMHO, definately when it is linked to the ten-places back rule. If you have to retire in the race, you should be place 10 places on the grid back in the next. If you hit the barrier in Monaco for instance, you should pray to god that your engine did not suffer any damaged. Then the tyre question: drivers are only permotted to replace tyres when the suffer a puncture. That would mean tactics are not that essential anymore and that would bore F1 even more. All F1 drivers have proven their capabilities and do not differ that much. With the new rules the cars are starting to look like GP2 cars with the same stuff almost on all cars, making no difference in drivers and cars ==== NO OVERTAKING. Pitstops only allowed for fuel ==== LESS THINGS THAT CAN GO WRONG === MORE BORING RACING
So F1 is robbed from: tactics, tyre-war (well almost, survival of the fittest), guts (drivers now have to plan for two races enginewise, and will never make a do-or-die action at the end of the race since that might result in two bad scores!!!).
2005 season: cars qualifying position = race order position, not very hard to predict and very uninteresting to watch. If Ferrari wouldn't be there, I wouldn't have watched it since 2000!
Niels