An agreement was reached on Thursday, with the contract subject to the condition the team has a starting place on the grid for 2010.

Doubts had recently been raised about the validity of a prior deal with Qadbak Investments Ltd, which has now been shelved in favour of the sale to Sauber.

Speculation has linked retired seven-time champion Schumacher with a return to the sport he once dominated following the German manufacturer’s takeover of reigning constructors’ champions Brawn GP earlier this month.

Reflecting on the rumours, Lauda told the official Formula One website, www.formula1.com: “I don’t believe that there is one single grain of truth in them, at least from all the signals that I get.”

Mercedes’ bosses in Stuttgart are thought to favour an all-German driver line-up for next season, following the departures of Rubens Barrichello to Williams and world champion Jenson Button to McLaren.

Nico Rosberg has been confirmed as one of Mercedes’ drivers for next season, and both Schumacher and fellow German Nick Heidfeld have been linked with the other seat.

Schumacher, who retired at the end of 2006, almost returned to the sport last season as understudy to the injured Felipe Massa but was forced to abandon his comeback due to a neck injury, but Lauda does not expect to see the 40-year-old on the grid in 2010.

Lauda added: “There was a window of opportunity after Felipe’s accident and had Michael been fit he would have taken up that chance to race for three or four races - to prove himself, get the adrenaline rush, and see where he stood in the pecking order.

“But I cannot believe that he would be up for a full season. Why then he did stop racing in the first place?”

Bosses at Silverstone claim they are close to agreeing a 10-year staging agreement to host Formula One in this country but Gillett, chief executive of Donington Ventures Leisure Limited (DVLL), insists it remains a two-way tussle. But with F1 rights holder Bernie Ecclestone setting a December 9 deadline for a deal to be done for a British race next summer, time is running out.

Whatever occurs in the battle of the midlands tracks, however, Gillett said of Britain hosting a race in 2010: “To me, it’s bloody essential. Personally I think we should have a British Grand Prix and it is a shame that other people within the UK don’t agree with that.”

He added: “No one is ever looking for a free handout from government but there certainly should be more support from central resources to make sure we have a grand prix.

“It is criminal when you see Wembley receiving £140million free money from the government for what is a very rich man’s sport and they will not give a penny to the British Grand Prix whether it is Donington or Silverstone.

“They won’t come near the sport, which is a real shame.”

Half-a-dozen investors are currently weighing up their options with regard to Donington, according to Gillett, who secured a 17-year contract to host Formula One in July last year only to have the offer withdrawn following failure to secure the £135million funding required to redevelop the site.

“[The money] is not from the traditional places that people might look to,” said Gillett.

“The minute you say you are looking for finance, everyone looks to the middle-east and assumes it is from a Saudi prince.

“But ours has come predominantly from mainland Europe and in the UK itself.”

Briatore’s lawyer Philippe Ouakrat attended the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris on Tuesday to outline his client’s assertion that the punishment handed down by motor sport’s governing body in September was illegal. The 59-year-old Italian is also demanding damages of just over £900,000.

Briatore was involved in a conspiracy which saw Nelson Piquet Jnr deliberately crash his car at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix in order to help team-mate Fernando Alonso take the win. Briatore claims former FIA president Max Mosley was “blinded by an excessive desire for personal revenge” in pursuing the case, and believes the FIA did not have legal grounds to issue him with a wholesale ban from motor sport.

“The decisions to carry out an investigation and to submit it to the World Council were taken by the same person, Max Mosley, the FIA president,” Briatore said in a statement earlier this month.

The statement added that Mosley “assumed the roles of complainant, investigator, prosecutor and judge” in what Briatore claims was a breach of the “most basic rules of procedure and the rights to a fair trial”.

Briatore’s claim that the FIA World Council chaired by Mosley was out for “personal revenge” stems from his involvement in plans for a breakaway series, an issue that rumbled on through much of last season before an agreement was reached for manufacturers to stay in Formula One.

Renault’s former executive director of engineering Pat Symonds also appealed against his five-year ban for involvement in the scandal at Tuesday’s hearing.

The 23-year-old, who is currently with the F1 outfit’s engine partners Mercedes in the German Touring Car Championship, could get a reserve or test position next season if he impresses in Jerez next month.

American IndyLights champion John Hildebrand, 21, will also take part in the tests from December 1-3.

Di Resta is the cousin of IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti and has tested twice for McLaren.

The future of the British GP has been the subject of a long-running saga, with Donington Park having been lined up before being plagued by financial problems, but Silverstone - which has hosted every British Grand Prix since 1987 - appears set to retain the race next season, with F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone having imposed a December 9 deadline for the future of the race to be decided.

Phillips told BBC Radio Northampton: “I don’t think there are any real stumbling blocks, we’re going through the last details of the deal. I’m pretty convinced that it will be run at Silverstone next year.”

The Northamptonshire circuit has been warned it must modernise facilities to keep the race long-term and Phillips is confident of a resolution.

He added: “We’ve been planning for more than a year, we’ll finish the track works in March and start on the new pits ready for 2011.”

It is also hoped a long-term deal will be agreed.

“We always had the faith that the Grand Prix would return,” said Phillips.

“We certainly would like the contract to be for more than 10 years - that’s the minimum.”

The 24-year-old German ended his four-year association with Williams to team up with the newly-branded team which last week saw world champion Jenson Button move to McLaren.

Rosberg said: “I am really happy to be a part of the Silver Arrows relaunch in 2010 as a driver for Mercedes.”

He added: “No other brand in Formula One can look back on such a long and successful tradition in motor racing. I am very proud that I will now drive for the new Mercedes team and work with Ross Brawn.

“I am more motivated than ever and can hardly wait to start testing with the new Silver Arrow and for the first race of the new season at Bahrain in March.”

Rosberg has been singled out as the perfect signing for the team by principal Ross Brawn, who guided the team named after him to the drivers’ and constructors’ titles in their debut season before selling a controlling interest to Mercedes.

Brawn said: “We are delighted to welcome Nico to our Mercedes team and are very much looking forward to working with him.

“Nico is a great talent and, with four years of experience in Formula 1, is a driver who will be able to make a valuable contribution to our team right from the outset.

“I had the pleasure of working with his father Keke during his Formula One career and it is great to see Nico following in his footsteps.

“2009 was Nico’s best season in Formula One to date and we look forward to seeing his development continue with us at Mercedes next year.”

On Monday, German car giant Mercedes-Benz announced they would take a 75.1% share in Brawn GP, with the team re-named as Mercedes Grand Prix and Brawn remaining as team principal.

“At some stage as a team owner you have to pass it on,” Brawn told The Independent.

“I’m almost 55 and I’m not planning to do a Bernie (Ecclestone, the Formula One rights holder who is aged 79).

“It was tempting to try to repeat this year’s success (as Brawn GP) but it would have been an awful risk.

“We were already working with their (Mercedes’) engine group and all the stars aligned.

“It was an opportunity to give the team a very strong future.”

It was not an easy decision, said Brawn, after a fairytale year which saw the team claim both the constructors’ and drivers’ titles, with Jenson Button triumphing behind the wheel.

Brawn added: “As I said to the staff, it’s sad to see the team only in existence for a year, but what a year!

“We’ve had a wonderful time, and in many ways it was a difficult decision, but now we’ve joined the most prestigious brand in the automotive world.”