Ecclestone Wants All Teams to Agree New Deal Soon

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone says he wants all teams to reach a new commercial agreement before the start of the 2005 season.

In a surprise move, World Champions Ferrari announced on Wednesday they had agreed to commit to Formula One until the end of 2012, effectively abandoning plans for the rival series they were preparing with the GPWC, whose owner Fiat was a founder member.

Ferrari, whose support is deemed crucial in any power struggle, were the only team to have agreed to the new deal, although Ecclestone said he had talked to most teams except Jordan and all had sounded positive.

"Traditionally Concorde Agreements are always signed first by Ferrari, myself and the FIA," Ecclestone told Gazzetta dello Sport. "The other constructors didn't know about it, but I'm contacting them. They'll understand the advantages are undeniable.

"Ferrari, from 2008 to 2012, will cash in as much as they would have gotten through their agreements with their GPWC partners. I've worked on it for six months, it was a big effort. But now I'm happy, as everyone should be."

Ecclestone said he was aiming for all teams to have signed the new deal before the start of the season in Australia in March.

"We want to have this all over with before the teams set off for the first race. Absolutely," Ecclestone told The Times. "This is not a case of seeing the GPWC off. What they were promising was nonsense.

"It was all about people looking for jobs, a nice little earner for certain people, with the manufacturers giving them money to set up. Now the teams will be able to go to their sponsors and tell them we have a stable future and everything is fine."