MF1 to announce Albers, engine in China

The team's new Dutch owners are pushing to finalise their package for next season and want to conclude an engine deal with Ferrari or Cosworth before the end of this weekend.

Owner Michiel Mol said on Friday morning that he was still weighing up the team's two options on the engine front, and believed a contract would be signed imminently.

"A decision on engines is the next thing we have to make," explained Mol. "And hopefully we are able to do that today or at the latest tomorrow to be able to announce that in China."

Although Spyker-MF1 representatives visited Ferrari's Maranello headquarters earlier this week to discuss the finer terms of an engine contract, the team also have an attractive offer from Cosworth on the table.

Mol made it clear that both options were still open and that there would be several factors in the final choice.

"Of course cost is an issue, but there is also the competitiveness and wanting to look for a long term deal," he explained. "If you want to make real progress over the years then you have to have a long-term partnership."

When asked whether there was much separating the two offers, he said: "No. It is pretty close. If there was a big difference then the decision would be easy."

Spyker-MF1 are decided on one thing, however, with the team and Albers having decided to continue their partnership. Confirmation of the deal could come as early as this afternoon.

The team have not made a decision on their second driver, however, but have been linked with ousted Red Bull Racing driver Christian Klien.

Team principal Colin Kolles said: "We have a lot of options. We have the current driver (Tiago Monteiro); we have the current third drivers. We have a lot of good options like (Adrian) Sutil, (Alex) Premat and so on.

"We are definitely looking to have a strong team and get the strongest possible driver line-up. It is not defined at the moment. Definitely the best package will be the case. Continuity is also important for a team."

Mol added that if the team's budget allowed, then he would like to continue with Tiago Monteiro as well.

"Personally I would very much like to see continuity in our driver line-up for next year. If we can agree on the budget, then my personal option would be to not change our drivers. But the last word on that has not been said yet."