Rome has signed an agreement with Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone to stage a Grand Prix, organizers said Sunday without giving any date or details. “The agreement with ... Bernie Ecclestone to bring the Rome Grand Prix to life has already been done and signed,” organizer Maurizio Flammini was quoted as saying by Italian media. Proposals to host a race through the streets of the EUR district of Rome are well advanced and officials have said they hoped it would be on the calendar by 2012, although Ecclestone has indicated 2013 is more likely. Petronas sponsor Mercedes GP has signed a long-term agreement with Malaysia's national oil company Petronas to become the title sponsor of the Formula One team. Financial details or the length of the deal were not disclosed in the announcement Monday. The new Silver Arrows and Petronas branding will appear on the Mercedes car when it makes its track debut at Valencia on Feb. 1 for the first of the preseason tests. Petronas also sponsors the Malaysian Grand Prix, which is schedule for April 4 at the Sepang International Circuit. Mercedes-Benz has returned to F1 racing under its own name for the first time in 55 years by buying Brawn GP, which won the drivers' and constructors' championship last season.
