Tuesday 21 Oktober at 09:47 : Oct.21 (GMM) It is now almost certain that Force India will team up with McLaren-Mercedes for the 2009 season and beyond

McLaren boss Ron Dennis made clear at the Chinese grand prix that despite talks about a technical partnership with the independent Silverstone based team, a definitive deal has not yet been sealed

But among Dennis' colleagues in team bosses meetings, the situation is fairly clear

"As I understand it, Force India has for the coming year secured a customer car from McLaren," Toro Rosso co-owner Gerhard Berger is quoted as saying by the Cologne newspaper Express

A Force India-McLaren deal is undoubtedly of great interest to Berger, whose team similarly uses a car built by another team (Red Bull)

Currently, the rules are due to change in 2010, when customer teams must become full constructors

But we reported recently that the topic is now in a state of flux, with Bernie Ecclestone wanting to allow teams involved in F1 for more than a decade to be allowed to share technology

"If Bernie's proposal actually goes through, I think it will be excellent for all independent teams and bring down costs substantially," Vijay Mallya, whose Force India team is currently powered by a customer Ferrari engine, said