JULY 27, 1998

...and Irvine stays at Ferrari

EDDIE IRVINE is to stay on at Ferrari to continue his partnership with Michael Schumacher. The deal is understood to have been struck in the course of the Austrian Grand Prix weekend. Irvine's new deal is expected to be for two years and is worth several million dollars.

The agreement comes after complicated negotiations between Ferrari and Jean Alesi over a possible deal for Jean to return to Maranello to join Schumacher, leaving his place at Sauber to Ralf Schumacher. We understand that the Schumacher Brothers and their manager Willi Webber spent some time trying to convince Ferrari to release engine technology to Sauber in exchange for the switch. In the end Ferrari decided to stop the talks and agreed to Irvine's demands.