Karthikeyan confident of 2006 drive

The Indian looks certain to be out of the frame at the renamed Midland F1 outfit, with the team having signed Christijan Albers and Tiago Monteiro, but has the chance of landing a testing slot elsewhere. He has even been linked with the third driver role at Williams.

Speaking in India on Wednesday, Karthikeyan said he remained in talks with several teams and was hoping to confirm his future imminently.

"I'm having a discussion with a few teams and I will very soon be making an announcement regarding my F1 future next year," he said. "As you know, I'm trying to get a new team and discussions are on."

Looking back on his debut season with Jordan, Karthikeyan believed that he had developed as a driver - although he could not hide his disappointment at the political scene at the team. This is a reference to a mid-season bust-up with the team's managing director Colin Kolles.

"My stay there with Jordan was a very good opportunity for me and I have learnt a lot from them," he said. "But there was some unprofessional behaviour and things became hard in F1."