Verstappen Breaks Off Talks with Jordan Again

Dutch driver Jos Verstappen has called off his talks with Jordan for a second time despite encouraging noises from the Formula One team this week.

"After extensive negotiations about all contracts involved, (sponsor) Trust and the management of Jos Verstappen have decided to definitively break off talks with Jordan," said a statement on the driver's website on Friday.

"Despite the fact that all parties involved did their best, there remain contractual obstacles about which no agreement was possible."

Jordan launched their new EJ14 this week with Trust's branding on the side of the car. Team boss Eddie Jordan said on Wednesday that talks with 31-year-old Verstappen were still on, despite the driver declaring them off last month, but that he was "not the only show in town."

The team have struggled to raise sponsorship for the season starting in Australia on March 7th and still have a driver vacancy. Germany's Nick Heidfeld has signed for next season and Jordan say they are looking for an experienced partner for him. Britons Ralph Firman, who drove for the team last year, and Allan McNish are among the frontrunners.

Verstappen, who was Michael Schumacher's teammate at Benetton in 1994 when the German won the first of his six World Championship titles, has considerable financial backing from his Dutch sponsors but Jordan are his only hope of a Grand Prix drive this year.

New rules mean the Dutchman is over-qualified to test for a team and all other race seats in Formula One have been taken.

Trust said they remained behind Verstappen. "We have given 100 percent and there can always be other opportunities by which Jos Verstappen can obtain a Formula One seat later in the season," said Trust marketing manager Muriel Wolda.

Verstappen added: "We all did our best to arrive at an agreement, but despite all the time and effort we could not agree on all points."