Fry expects Willis decision soon

Willis has been on 'gardening leave' since before the Canadian Grand Prix in the wake of a major management reshuffle at the Japanese manufacturer.

The team's absence from their factory between the Canadian and United States Grand Prix has meant that resolving the Willis situation has been put on the backburner, but Fry believes the situation will be resolved soon.

"Obviously things have been going on, but very little really," said Fry. "These are the things we can do face-to-face.

"When we get back to England, we will have some more discussions with Geoff. Nothing specific has been set up at this stage, but he only lives 15 minutes up the road, so it is not overly difficult."

The successful partnership that Willis enjoyed when David Richards was BAR boss, which culminated in the team finishing second in 2004, has inevitably fuelled speculation that he could play a key role in Prodrive's plans for a 2008 team.

Speaking ahead of his talks with Willis, Fry said there was no way he could predict what the outcome of their discussions would be - but said he would not be surprised if Prodrive expressed some interest in Willis if he was free.

"It will be up to Geoff to decide what he wants to do once we have come to an agreement with him," said Fry.

"Obviously I am sure Prodrive and David Richards will be interested in Geoff if they are in the position of making appointments, which I haven't seen any sign of yet."