Jordan advises Doornbos to stay

That is the view of his current team boss Eddie Jordan, who has praised the job that Doornbos has done for the outfit since coming on board at the Chinese Grand Prix. He has suggested that he would like the Dutchman to stay in his current role in 2005.

"I'm very impressed with him," said Jordan. "I've been talking about him with people from Bridgestone and people from my team and the job he has done. Really, I don't see how he could have done a better job - jumping into the car without any previous testing."

When asked whether he believed Doornbos was ready to jump into a race seat for 2005, Jordan was less convinced - but only because of the difficulties and extreme pressure that young drivers face in the sport's top category.

He uses the example of Jordan's previous third driver, Timo Glock, who gained experience on Fridays earlier this year and impressed in his full debut when he scored two points in the Canadian Grand Prix as temporary stand-in for Giorgio Pantano.

"Actually I think it's now so difficult for a young driver," added Jordan. "He learns very well but he's going to struggle if he's going to go racing against the most experienced guys straight away.

"My real opinion is that if he can find a good seat as a Friday driver and then see how it goes, then it's possible to do some races, just like Timo. He got his chance in Canada, he did the race and he scored points. So Doornbos could do the same."

Doornbos has a chance of staying at Jordan next year thanks to his Dutch sponsors, which are looking at continuing with the Silverstone-based outfit. He already began work on the team's 2005 car when he tested out development parts at Elvington Airfield last week.