McLaren Prepare for Three-Car Teams Possibility

McLaren boss Ron Dennis on Friday hinted at the possibility of Formula One introducing a new rule that would allow teams to race three cars during the Grands Prix.

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone said earlier this month that he wanted to introduce the rule in order to have more competitive cars on the field among fears that some struggling teams like Arrows or Minardi could disappear at the end of the year.

"Instead of two it will be three," Ecclestone said. "It will probably be three drivers and three cars and probably happen next year, but we'll have to wait and see. It makes it more competitive because the teams will run three cars, so there will be another seven competitive cars we could run."

Dennis, who on Friday announced his team's driver line-up would remain unchanged in 2003, revealed that he was thinking about the future when he decided to keep David Coulthard, Kimi Raikkonen and Alex Wurz at the team, suggesting that all three men could be racing in the future.

"This decision was taken as a result of extensive discussions," he said. "As always, you are not just talking about next year but about long-term aspirations. We want to win races and we have also to think carefully about the economics of Grand Prix racing, the possibility that we may at some stage need to run three cars."

Dennis would not give details about the lengths of the individual contracts, although Wurz said his arrangement was long-term.

"With the general uncertainties in Formula One at the moment and the current stalemate situation in the driver market, I preferred to commit early to this agreement and to my teammates, rather than having to wait for situations to unfold," said the Austrian.