Herta still hunting F1 ride

"There is still a small chance to possibly do some testing or something in Formula 1 next year which would be good," said the American who spent a large proportion of his day rehearsing the Sex Pistol's Pretty Vacant behind the AUTOSPORT stage, for the F1 Party held in the NEC Arena last night (Saturday).

"Paul Stoddart did give my first chance to drive in Formula 1" said the Californian, who tested for Minardi at Donington last autumn and was one of those in the frame for a drive when Alex Yoong withdrew for two races. "He did make me an offer to drive in the series this year but it wasn't a financial package that I could put together in the US unfortunately.

"But there is still some chance because Minardi have opted to do the Friday morning testing. Certainly we've talked quite a bit about coming out and doing the US Grand Prix Friday testing which would be really good to do."

Herta hasn't driven in Champ Cars since 2000 but is hoping to combine the F1 testing with a full single-seater racing programme this year.

"I drove the Panoz in sportscars last year and I'm really looking to get back into single seaters," said Herta. "I'm pretty close to do something in the CART series which I'm hoping will come off."