Formula One teams fire up for 1997

LONDON: Mastercard is backing a new Lola Formula One team which will debut next season. The sponsorship -- described as "innovative" -- involves the creation of a new credit card linked to the team, which entitles holders to memorabilia otherwise unavailable to the public.

Mastercard hopes to introduce 100,000 of the cards, which are expected to cost from about US$100 to $3,000 a year. The teams drivers will be announced soon, with Martin Brundle mentioned as a possible leader.

German-based team, Sauber appears to have secured a supply of Ferrari V10 engines, at a cost of about $20 million. The deal is for one year only because the team will then use its own engines, the production of which is being funded by the Malaysian government-owned Petronas oil company.

On the driver front, Michael Schumacher has extended his contract with Ferrari by two years, confirming him at the Italian team until the end of 1999.

Despite widespread speculation, Honda has decided against a return to Formula One racing in 1998. The company, which dominated Formula One until it withdrew four years ago, had been considering a return, reportedly with Williams, Ligier, Arrows or the Japanese Dome team.