Minardi to Announce Engine Deal at Spa

The struggling European Minardi team revealed on Tuesday that they have made a decision on their engine supply for 2002, and they will make an announcement this weekend at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Team boss Paul Stoddart had four options to choose from, with Cosworth and Ferrari being his clear favourites. But it seems unlikely that the team have been able to secure either and it is expected to be an Asiatech powerplant or an in-house development that the team will use in 2002.

"The deal is done," said a spokesman for the team today. "We will be making an announcement in Spa, but it is not going to be a big thing. It will be low-profile, fairly matter of fact, because everyone is more focussed on other jobs."

At the Hungarian Grand Prix, team boss Paul Stoddart lowered his aims of securing a Minardi podium next year as his hopes of securing a competitive engine seemed to have dropped. He counted out the Cosworth option, and hinted that he would miss out on the Ferrari unit, which is expected to remain with Prost.

Minardi signed Malaysian Alex Yoong last weekend, which will provide them with much needed funding for the engine, but it is not expected to be enough to lure Ferrari. Yoong is now in his homeland preparing for his Grand Prix debut in Italy on September 16th.

"Alex is back in Malaysia," said the team spokesman. "He is working hard to prepare for his debut and he won't be at Spa."