In addition, CART's engine manufacturers -- Honda, Mercedes, Toyota and Ford -- have also had separate meetings with George to discuss engine formulas, in case CART and I.R.L. get back together, according to the executive. Reaching an agreement over whether teams lease or buy their engines will probably be the biggest sticking point.

The talks have also addressed I.R.L. concerns about what to do with the low-budget I.R.L. teams that won't be able to afford to race should CART and I.R.L. merge. In initial discussions, it has been decided that those I.R.L. teams that wouldn't be able to afford to race would receive CART stock.

SCHUMACHER'S BAD BREAK

The Formula One championship may have been decided last Sunday in Silverstone, England, when Michael Schumacher broke his leg in two places in a severe crash just 30 seconds into the race. Mika Hakkinen, the defending world champion, is favored to repeat now that Schumacher could miss the remainder of the season.

Schumacher, a 30-year-old German, was released from Northhampton General Hospital yesterday, two days after surgeons inserted a foot-long rod to repair his broken tibia and fibula. On Monday, Schumacher said that he felt lucky to be alive after Sunday's crash, which occurred when he lost control of his Ferrari going into a sharp turn and slammed head on into a tire wall at nearly 70 miles per hour. The Federation Internationale L'Automobile, Formula One's sanctioning body, announced late yesterday that its investigation into the crash revealed that the cause was front brake failure.

''I know that I'm going to be out of action for two to three months and that I have absolutely no chance of the championship this year,'' Schumacher told reporters yesterday in England. ''But I am confident I'll be driving a Ferrari in Formula One before the end of the season.''