Minardi driver decision due soon

Brazilian Max Wilson and Argentine Norberto Fontana were thought to be the only drivers in the equation, but now the team's test driver Gaston Mazzacane, another Argentine, has also entered the frame.

Mazzacane tested for the team at Fiorano on Friday, and an official Minardi statement confirmed that he too was a candidate for the seat.

It was thought that Formula 3000 star Wilson, a former Williams test driver, was edging ahead in the race for the drive. Fontana had been linked instead to a CART seat alongside Richie Hearn at Della Penna Motorsports.

However, the issue was further clouded when a team press release claimed that Giancarlo Minardi would be leaving for South America to continue negotiations with drivers and was 'likely to make a stop in Argentina.'

Both Wilson and Fontana were very highly-rated in the junior formulae. Fontana was a former F3 and Formula Nippon star but his reputation suffered after he failed to shine in four F1 races with Sauber in 1997.

Mazzacane tested for Minardi in 1999 and is well-funded, but his greatest achievement to date is a single F3000 points finish in 1997.