Ecclestone: deal held up by 'silly things'

Amid speculation that a deal with the Grand Prix Manufacturers' Association to commit them long-term to F1 will be agreed by the Monaco Grand Prix, Ecclestone has denied that the sticking point to an agreement is commercial income.

"It is not really anything to do with the revenues," he said. "It is silly things. When somebody starts a fight, in the end they need to have a reason for it, they need to have some sort of a victory.

"I said when this all started that this would all end with a press release. That is what will happen."

Ecclestone said he was unsure about when the final agreement was likely to be reached, although there are some suggestions an official announcement could come at next month's British Grand Prix.

Referring to his presence at the launch of a new range of official Formula One watches, he said: "I don't think they (the manufacturers) know anything about time. We have been negotiating with them for six years, so another six years one way or another won't matter.

"We are always close. It is always going to be settled this Friday. We missed this Friday so it will probably be next Friday."

Even if all the members of the GPMA do not sign a deal, it is looking increasingly likely that Renault will commit themselves imminently.

The presence of Renault's F1 president Alain Dassas in the Spanish Grand Prix paddock has prompted talk that the French car manufacturer could even sign up this weekend.

"We will have to see," Ecclestone said. "They (Renault) are a bit more sensible. The arguments that are going on really are a little bit silly. What they are trying to do is save the manufacturers an awful lot of money.

"They want to win races, they want competition to be as it is, and they still want some technology. But they don't want it to be at the expense that it is at the moment."