Verstappen Hopeful of Jordan Deal

Dutch Formula One driver Jos Verstappen remains optimistic about his chances of racing for Jordan this year but there is still no deal, his spokesman said on Friday.

"It could last another few weeks. Late January? Maybe even February, but it could all gain momentum in which case it would all be over earlier," Raymond Vermeulen told the driver's website.

"Tomorrow the situation could be different altogether. We are positive about developments, talks are continuing," he added.

Jordan are the only Formula One team with no drivers announced for the new season starting on March 7 in Australia and the team have said they want to finalise their sponsorship deals first.

"Eddie (Jordan) is still looking carefully at the shortlist of available drivers," said a team spokeswoman.

Verstappen, an experienced Formula One driver who was with Minardi last year, can count on considerable backing from Dutch technology company Trust. Vermeulen defined the current state of negotiations as "contact, but no contract".

"The sponsors first need to reach an agreement with Eddie Jordan. The team wants a good race-driver, combined with an as attractive as possible financial deal and the sponsors want maximum exposure in return," he said.

"It's not just about car stickers, but also other facilities like hospitality, entrance tickets for contacts and so on."