F1 chief signs deal with carmakers

London: Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has signed an agreement with carmakers to end the threat of a rival series from 2008.

Both Ecclestone and the Grand Prix Manufacturers' Association (GPMA) confirmed on Friday that they had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) after years of negotiation.

The five carmakers are Renault, BMW, DaimlerChrysler's Mercedes, Honda and Toyota.

The five, who all have teams in the championship, signed the document during the Spanish Grand Prix last weekend but Ecclestone, 75, had left the Circuit de Catalunya without putting pen to paper.

Ecclestone told the Autosport website: "We've now signed our part and it is now just a question of sending it to the lawyers. The negotiations have taken a while and we spent a lot of time discussing issues which were not real, honest issues."

"But now at least we have the MOU and that will form the basis of the Concorde Agreement, once we get the FIA technical issues sorted," he added.

A GPMA spokesman confirmed that all parties had signed.

The existing 'Concorde Agreement', a confidential document binding the teams, commercial rights holder Ecclestone and governing International Automobile Federation (FIA), expires at the end of 2007.

Champions Renault have already announced that they are committed to the championship long-term while glamour team Ferrari last year broke ranks with the GPMA's predecessor, the GPWC, and signed with Ecclestone to 2012.

Terms of the new deal have not been disclosed, although media reports have speculated that the teams -- currently 11 but 12 from 2008 -- will now get 50 per cent of the $1 billion sport's revenues.

Under the terms of the previous agreement, in 1997, teams shared around 23 per cent of the revenues.

"This will constitute now the biggest single commercial resolution and will allow us to move forward to focus on the future of Formula One," said McLaren boss Ron Dennis in Barcelona last Sunday.

"This document is only the first step towards (a new) Concorde Agreement, sporting and technical regulations," he added.

"There is a long, long way to go...but this is the core, the absolute cornerstone of the future Concorde Agreement."