Verstappen Breaks Negotiations with Jordan

Dutch driver Jos Verstappen has broken his negotiations with the Jordan team, putting an end to his hopes of landing a Formula One racing seat for the 2004 season.

Verstappen's website had quoted his management as demanding 'clarity' from Jordan last week, but the Silverstone-based squad had ignored the driver's ultimatum. However, the talks were still ongoing and Verstappen's sponsors Trust were confident a deal would be reached.

On Tuesday, however, Verstappen announced on his official website that the negotiations had been broken.

"We all did our very best to come to an agreement," the driver said on his website today. "But at the current time it's not useful to continue with the negotiations. Again, I want to say that we have a fantastic group of people around us.

"Especially Michel Perridon from Trust, who did his best to get to a positive outcome. We broke the negotiations with Jordan with the support of all the sponsors involved."

Verstappen did not say what his plans for the future were now.

A spokeswoman for the team, who had already ignored an ultimatum from Verstappen's management for a decision on his contract by last Friday, said the driver had not visited their factory since January 12.

Jordan are the only Formula One team without any drivers announced for the 2004 season, which starts in Australia on March 7.