FEBRUARY 6, 2004

The end for Jos and Jordan

The soap opera of Jos Verstappen and Jordan appears finally to be over. Trust's marketing manager Muriel Wouda says that a deal was just not possible with Jordan because of contractual difficulties.

"We have done our utmost," she said. "There might be an opportunity later this season whereby Jos Verstappen could get a seat in Formula 1."

Verstappen himself says that he is disappointed but that it was just not possible to find a suitable deal with the Silverstone-based team.

"We have done what we could," he said, "but despite all the time and effort we have not been successful in getting a mutual agreement on all contractual matters."

This means that Jordan will now have to find someone else to be Nick Heidfeld's partner. There have been suggestions in recent days that Benson & Hedges is not going to increase its sponsorship if Jordan takes a British driver and so it may be that Jordan has to go for a simple pay-driver. He is talking to Japan's Satoshi Motoyama and Italian Giorgio Pantano and others. Both Motoyama and Pantano are top-level racers and both have sponsorship but we hear that the money is not anywhere in the same league as the backing that Verstappen had available.