In the wake of Wednesday's presentation by the GPWC, following which six of the nine 'rebel' teams signed a Memorandum of Understanding', and the manufacturers "guaranteed" that from 2006, "the supply of competitive engines at an affordable price to a second team which commits to such series", there has been much speculation as to which teams will take which engine deal.

At present, most of the speculation centres on Sauber switching from Ferrari to BMW, while Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz has made no secret of the fact that he too would be keen to see the German power-plants in the back of his cars next year.

Although Sauber has enjoyed a long, fairly successful, relationship with Ferrari, dating back to 1997, it is clear that a slight rift is appearing.

First off, and to everyone's surprise, there was the Swiss outfit's (brave) decision to side with the 'rebels' when they made their cost cutting proposals in Brazil, then came the Italian team's decision to shun the GPWC and commit to Bernie Ecclestone's F1.

If the GPWC is to go ahead, Sauber would hardly use engines supplied by a rival competing in another series, and would therefore opt for power-plants provided by one of the manufacturers within the GPWC.

Although Sauber has a long history of involvement with Mercedes-Benz, BMW does indeed seem the most likely answer, even if the GPWC never happens.

Like Red Bull, Jordan (Midland) is also looking for an engine deal for 2006, especially in light of the fact that the Silverstone outfit's engine deal with Toyota is for one year only.

Although there will be much talk and speculation over the coming months, it's unlikely that any serious deals will be done until the future of the GPWC is known, or at least a little more clear. And all that requires is for one or two teams to break rank... which is sure to happen in the not too distant future.