Jos may race for Jordan

Eddie Jordan refused to confirm that in Spain saying: "It's a bit too early to be saying anything like that at this stage. At the moment the idea is just to get Jos back into the swing of things and give him some mileage."

Jordan is backed by Trust, which has an association with Verstappen, who was widely expected to secure one of the team's race drives over the pre-season break. The fact that he didn't was down to a breakdown in money discussions at a time when Giorgio Pantano arrived on the scene with finance.

Heidfeld, however, is the driver likely to come under pressure for his seat, not related to anything he has or has not done in the cockpit, but purely because the team is in need of cash. Verstappen is understood to have support from other Dutch backers.

With Heidfeld and Pantano both of jockey stature, however, one obstacle seems to be whether or not the broader Verstappen will feel comfortable enough to race the EJ14, having already had a seat fitting at the team's Silverstone base.