JANUARY 7, 2003

Things are getting dirty in Holland

The battle between Jos Verstappen and Christjian Albers to be the only Dutchman in Formula 1 has led to a less than civilised campaign - apparently from the fans of one driver or the other. In recent weeks we have received photographs of Jos Verstappen brawling with one of his former sponsors at a karting event while the latest revelation is that Christjian Albers's website apparently contains pornographic material.

None of this is helping either man to secure a drive in F1 but it is evidence of just how keen their fans are to have a Dutchman in F1.

Michiel Mol, the boss of Lost Boys and Media Republic, has announced that he will be giving $500,000 in personal sponsorship to whichever driver lands an F1 drive. This is not as much money as Lost Boys was expected to put into F1.