Most teams committed to F1 beyond 2012: Ecclestone

Sepang: Bernie Ecclestone said a majority of the teams currently competing in Formula One, including Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull, have committed to continue racing in the sport after the current Concorde agreement expires at the end of this year.

The Concorde agreement is a confidential commercial agreement between the rights holding company and the teams whose cars compete in the 20-race series. The agreement also governs how much of the television rights money and prize money teams receive. "I am very pleased to announce that we have reached commercial agreements with the majority of the current Formula One teams ... about the terms on which they will continue competing in Formula One after the current Concorde Agreement expires at the end of this year," the Formula One promoter said in a statement posted on the official F1 website. Ecclestone`s statement comes after he told Reuters in a telephone interview he had recommended Singapore as the best place to float part of the motor racing business to its majority owners CVC Capital. There have also been rumours that Ferrari and Red Bull had agreed a special deal with the 81-year old -- who has built the sport from a circuit for motoring enthusiasts into a global enterprise -- that would see the oldest team in Formula One take a shareholding in the sport while both teams would gain seats on the sport`s board. The sport`s governing body, the FIA, now run by former Ferrari principal Jean Todt, ultimately owns the commercial rights but signed them over to Ecclestone`s Formula One Management in a 100-year deal in 2001 as part of a separation of commercial and regulatory activities. Bureau Report