Doornbos seeks Jordan test deal

The announcement of Tiago Monteiro and Narain Karthikeyan as Jordan's new F1 line-up came as a surprise to Doornbos, who had been almost certain of a 2005 seat with the team.

"When the news reached me on Thursday morning, I was completely overwhelmed by it," said Doornbos. "In the last few months, my management team went flat out to secure me a race drive (with Jordan) and last week we actually had all the necessary ingredients together to finalise the deal.

"Though the final decision was of course with the team, I was always pretty confident of being on the grid in Melbourne.

"My management has already started talks with Jordan for the possibility of the test drive, but we're also looking for future opportunities with other teams."

Doornbos was Jordan's 'third driver' at the final three grands prix of 2004 after Timo Glock was promoted to the second race seat, and also tested for the team in November. In late January Dutch sources were suggesting that the announcement of a Doornbos/Jordan deal was imminent, but in the event the drives went elsewhere.

Prior to testing for Jordan last season, Doornbos finished third in the Formula 3000 Championship with Arden International. The Dutchman would have been a title favourite had he opted to contest the series' replacement GP2, but he has decided to commit himself to F1 testing opportunities this season rather than racing in another category.

"In the last couple of days I've also received several offers out of other series, but my feeling says to stick to F1 for the moment," said Doornbos.