Coulthard and Hakkinen re-sign for McLaren

Coulthard is believed to have signed a new £3.5m deal to drive for McLaren next year.

According to Paddock sources, the deal was signed late last night at Hockenheim.

'I'm ecstatic that I'm continuing with the team,' said the Scot.

Meanwhile, team-mate Mika Hakkinen is understood to have signed a deal worth more than £10m - a massive pay-hike on last year.

The world champion said, 'I can hardly imagine life with any other team having started with McLaren in 1993 as a test driver.'

Their signings are set to get the grid-locked driver market moving.

With Eddie Irvine certain to miss out at McLaren, and certainly on his way out of Ferrari, he has turned his attention to Jordan and Stewart-Ford.

'We can afford to wait, we know what everyone wants and they know what we want,' said a source close to the temporary Ferrari team-leader.