DC's Jag hopes fade

David Coulthard's hopes of joining the Jaguar Racing team for 2005 have diminished following a rumoured sponsorship agreement between Williams and the Royal Bank of Scotland, reports Autosport magazine this week

The Jaguar team is reported to be looking for an experienced driver for its squad in 2005, and was hoping to use the Scot to entice RBS into a longterm sponsorship deal to replace its main sponsor HSBC, which is expected to leave the sport at the end of its contract.

But Jackie Stewart, who recently became an ambassador for RBS, is reported to have brokered a deal between the bank and the Williams team, in spite of his role as a non-executive director of Jaguar.

WilliamsF1 team director Patrick Head has indicated however that RBS' deal with Williams is unlikely to boost Coulthard's chances of returning to the team he made his debut with in 1994.

"In some races - not so much recently - he's put in a stunning performance but at the next one he's appeared very mediocre," said Head. "I'm sure he would give strong reasons technically why, but's that not how it appears. We've never been into mind-guruing at Williams and we're not going to start now."