Heidfeld denies Toyota rumours

"It's all rumour," the former F3000 champion said at a press conference in Austria as he sat next to current Toyota driver Allan McNish. "At the moment I'm happy at Sauber and maybe Allan knows more about the Toyota stories."

"I know less than you..." McNish dead-panned.

Heidfeld has previously tested for McLaren and was deeply disappointed to lose out to last year's Sauber team-mate Kimi Raikkonen when a McLaren seat became available through Mika Hakkinen's sabbatical/retirement.

Heidfeld and Raikkonen were nip and tuck at Sauber last year and the German has coped well so far with the challenge of Felipe Massa. Sauber's latest coming-man signing. But, heading for his fourth season in F1 next year, Heidfeld, who celebrates his 25th birthday in Austria, will be keen to progress in terms of competitiveness and earnings. And, while Toyota could not necessarily provide the former immediately, they could certainly boost Heidfeld's bank balance.

McNish, meanwhile, will be keen to cement a second year as a full race driver. With the team performing beyond expectations, however, he is likely to have to fend off challenges from established F1 drivers such as Heidfeld as well as from would-be movers from the US, such as CART start Cristiano da Matta and IRL front-runner Helio Castroneves.