Pantano Moves into Fast Lane for Jordan Drive
Monday February 9th, 2004
By Alan Baldwin
Italian Giorgio Pantano looked a strong contender to secure Formula One's last remaining drive after moving closer to a deal with Jordan on Monday.
A team spokeswoman said the 25-year-old would be at the Jerez circuit in southern Spain where Germany's Nick Heidfeld, so far the team's sole confirmed driver, will start testing on Tuesday.
"We're talking to him and he's going to come down to see what's going on," said the spokeswoman.
While Jordan could not confirm that Pantano would take part in the test, Italy's Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper said he would be in the car on Tuesday and Friday and BBC Radio reported that a deal was close.
Pantano was German Formula Three champion in 2000 and was third in last year's Formula 3000 championship after finishing runner-up in 2002. The Italian has had Formula One tests in the past with Benetton, McLaren and Williams but has lacked sufficient sponsorship to secure a race seat.
The Formula One season starts in Australia on March 7 and Jordan are the only team yet to finalise their line-up.
Italian Giancarlo Fisichella, who drove for them last season, has joined Sauber while Briton Ralph Firman is still hoping to be retained for a second year. Briton Allan McNish, who raced for Toyota in 2002 and was Renault test driver last year, has also been linked to the Jordan drive.
However Dutch driver Jos Verstappen, who had been considered a favourite to partner Heidfeld, seemingly dropped out of the running last week when he announced on his website that negotiations with Jordan had ended.
Team boss Eddie Jordan, who launched the new EJ14 at Silverstone last week, has said he is hoping to sign an experienced driver.
"We would ideally like an experienced Formula One driver ... nationality is not the key to it," he said last week.
Pantano was also considered for a test driver role last season after an agreement between Jordan and David Sears, owner of the Super Nova F3000 team. Sears was Jordan's first Formula Three driver in 1981 and they agreed last year to work together on a number of fronts, including driver development and sponsorship. |
