Engine deal awaits final signatures

As reported earlier, the teams have agreed a new engine rules package from the start of next season that should see part-homologation of power-units for the next four years.

The verbal agreement was reached on Sunday morning after a series of meetings over the Indianapolis weekend. All that was left was for the teams to put their signatures to a document confirming the new rules.

Although there had been hopes that the signatures of all of F1's teams would be captured by the end of the weekend, sources have revealed that F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone had not succeeded in his task over the course of the day.

It is not clear how many teams have signed it, but autosport.com understands that both Red Bull Racing and Ferrari have not yet approved the deal.

It is believed that Red Bull want more time to analyze the impact of some of the rules on independent teams, while Ferrari sporting director Jean Todt has admitted that his team want to look at the specific details this week before approving it.

"There were a few meetings over the weekend to try to find an agreement for the engine in order to try to find a common agreement and to introduce that without conflict for 2007," he said.

"So Ferrari was available for that as long as the cost would not be over the cost from what we called the Maranello proposal.

"Now my people will have a very cautious look to this proposal. We should be close to the one we suggested after the Maranello meeting and if we feel that it does reach our expectation, we don't have any problem to sign it.

"So we will see and if we feel that some modifications have to be suggested, we will suggest them and hopefully our colleagues will agree on them."

Todt believes that Ferrari's approval should happen 'in the coming days', so what has become known as the Indianapolis Agreement can be put to the Formula One Commission on Wednesday.

Honda's Otmar Szafnauer, who has played a key role in finding a compromise deal between the sport's manufacturers, said he was not unduly worried by the failure of all teams to ratify the agreement this weekend.

"Bernie is trying to get everybody's signatures but I am not sure how far he has got," he said. "But before that verbally everyone said, 'yep I am in agreement with this. Please go and write it up and we will sign'. We are in the process of doing that."

When asked what would happen if all the teams had not signed the document before the F1 Commission meeting, he said that it would still be possible for the deal to be signed at the French Grand Prix in two weeks' time.

"All we would have to do is change the title from Indianapolis to Magny-Cours," he explained. "I would still be okay if everyone signed it.

"If you have unanimous agreement then you can change the regulations anyway. But hopefully before July 6 we can get everyone's signature and then we've got it."