Jaguar: Herbert’s US ‘yes’; Eddie unsteady?

The 35-year-old, who will be dropped by Jaguar at the end of the season, visited the Michigan 500 last weekend on a fact-finding mission and confirmed he will be moving Stateside in a press conference in Germany yesterday (Wednesday).

"I decided that I will go to the American CART series next year," said Herbert. "Obviously I've got to sign a contract for a drive, but that's what I want to do next year. We will know what is going on probably within the next month."

Jaguar is expected to confirm Herbert's departure at this weekend's German Grand Prix, but will not be announcing his replacement. Champ Car star Dario Franchitti, who tested for the team last week, is top of the list of candidates.

Meanwhile, Herbert's team mate Eddie Irvine returns to the cockpit this weekend after pulling out of the Austrian Grand Prix with stomach problems. But after tests last week gave the all-clear to race, he still admits to being less than 100% fit.

"I couldn't eat for about three days last week, so I'm a bit run-down," said Irvine. "I lost a lot of weight and have got to rebuild my strength. Luckily Hockenheim is not a difficult circuit physically."

Eddie Irvine made use of his time out of the car to fettle his image. The Ulsterman will be sporting bleached locks at Hockenheim.