Franchitti set for Jaguar test?

"We're talking to quite a few people, and there are some interesting offers, but nothing is finalised," said the Scot in his diary on autosport.com. "The teams seem enthusiastic, and that of course includes Barry Green. I have a great relationship with Team Kool Green, and that, at the moment is what I'm focusing on - after all, we seem to have a race almost every weekend at the moment."

It has long been known that, Franchitti, runner-up in the 1999 CART series, wants to race in F1 and that this is the final season of his contract with Team Kool Green. However with his current links with British American Tobacco, Reynard and Honda, the BAR team seemed the most logical first step.

Recent rumours, however have linked him with Jaguar, the team which has grown from Paul Stewart Racing that Franchitti cut his teeth with in Formula Vauxhall and Formula 3, with backing and support from Jackie Stewart.

In today's Autosport magazine, a Jaguar spokesman said: "The test is something that could happen, but at this stage it is not something that is planned. Our driver line-up for next year has not been looked at in any detail yet. We need to look at all sorts of possibilities before making any decisions."

If Franchitti's move to F1 for 2001 does come off, it will renew his current rivalry with Juan Montoya who is also heading from CART to F1 with Williams. Last year the pair tied on points for the CART title, Montoya winning it having had the higher number of wins.

To read Dario's Portland autosport.com column in full click HERE.