McNish in Talks with Jordan over Race Seat

Scot Allan McNish has revealed he is one of the candidates to land a seat with the Jordan Grand Prix team next season.

"I'm still talking with Jordan at the moment and things are progressing," said 33-year old McNish. "I've visited the factory and seen the car and the wind tunnel, and I'm right up to speed with where the team is.

"There's been so much speculation recently over this seat with Jordan, but that's only to be expected with only a few places left up for grabs, however with the new testing regulations it puts even more emphasis on an experienced driver."

McNish, who made his Grand Prix debut with Toyota in 2002 and spent 2003 as a test driver for Renault, is currently out of a job. Jordan, who are still to announce their drivers for next season, are talking with several of them, including Dutchman Jos Verstappen.

Jordan have options on Germany's Nick Heidfeld and Briton Ralph Firman, but the Silverstone-based team said that in Heidfeld's case they could pull out the deal if they failed to raise the funding needed.

McNish said he would not need to pay for a drive with Jordan.

"Fortunately I have never been in the position of being asked for money from a team to drive and teams recognize what value I bring both on and off track," he said. "Eddie is working very hard to secure the team's position for the future and I am sure he will succeed, he is best when his back is against the wall."

The Scot admitted his main goal is to return to the Grand Prix grid next year, and he is focusing all his efforts on working out a deal with Jordan.

"At the moment I'm just concentrating on working things out with Jordan but I am in the very fortunate position of having a number of options open to me so we'll just have to see how things pan out," McNish added.