Key figures in the sport want to take action to arrest a decline in spectator interest - a trend not helped by the lack of any genuine competition for Ferrari this year.

But the McLaren driver said radical proposals to reduce the differences between the F1 teams would be against the spirit of the sport.

"As a knee jerk reaction to try to handicap people who are doing a better job I don't think it is right," he told reporters ahead of Sunday's season-ending Japanese Grand Prix.

"I think it goes against what Formula One stands for, in which the people with the cleverest minds and the best budgets do the best jobs."

F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone suggested a weight handicap to reduce the performance advantage of Ferrari.

Max Mosley, president of motorsport's world governing body FIA, proposed drivers swapping teams during the season to prevent the dominance of one manufacturer.

Jaguar driver Eddie Irvine said: "That's a non-starter.

"How can I go and stand in the Jaguar showroom having driven a Ferrari? Or Michael, the image of Ferrari, and he is driving around in a Minardi in the Monaco Grand Prix."

Other proposals under discussion include changing the system of qualifying so that drivers' grid positions are based on their average time over two sessions.

Bosses are also considering cutting down the number of aerodynamic changes manufacturers can make to their cars over the year.

Finland's Mika Salo joined Coulthard in rejecting the proposals.

"It's not fair if the teams do a good job and they work hard to have the best car that somebody puts weight on them to slow down," said the Toyota driver, who will retire from F1 after the Japan race.