Who goes to Williams?

At the beginning of the weekend, the paddock was hot with rumour - initiated in Canada it has to be said - that Jacques Villeneuve could return to the team with which he won the 1997 world championship. Villeneuve is understood to have visited Williams three weeks ago to sound out the possibilities, but the word is that his return looks unlikely.

While nobody doubts that the straight-talking Villeneuve would be a good presence for F1, insiders at Williams have said that he made hard work of the '97 championship in a patently superior car. They would also look closely at Jenson Button besting him at BAR last year. In the event of other options closing, however, a cut-price deal possibly attached to a performance clause, should not be totally ruled out.

Eddie Jordan then let it be known that he thinks that his current driver Nick Heidfeld would be an ideal candidate.

"Nick is a fantastic driver, hugely under-rated, German as well, and I think he would be a great fit there," Jordan said. Much of that is true of a man who was often nip and tuck with Kimi Railkkonen at Sauber but never quite seems to be on the radar when top drives are up for grabs. And it is probably worth pointing out that Jordan would no doubt stand to gain financially from such a scenario.

Although Heidfeld is German, BMW says that nationality is not a key factor and driver choice is officially the domain of Frank Williams and Patrick Head. On the plus side, Heidfeld could be a strong performer at a bargain price, but many doubt, rightly or wrongly, whether his understated image is quite the right fit to satisfy the team's backers.

There is little doubt that both Mark Webber and Jenson Button are close to the top of Sir Frank's list, but both are understood to be unable to leave their current seats if their teams meet certain performance requirements. BAR, obviously, looks well on course, and would Button want to give up a BAR seat for Williams right now?

Webber has to be the strong favourite if a deal can be worked out, via Flavio Briatore, to get the Australian into the Grove team. But the second seat really does appear to be open, with drivers such as Giancarlo Fisichella, David Coulthard, Scott Dixon, Villeneuve, and even test drivers Antonio Pizzonia and Anthony Davidson all potentially in the frame.

The presence of NASCAR ace Jeff Gordon in the Williams pit in Spain also made a few wonder about the impossible. Gordon, though, said he was merely accepting a Williams invitation to attend a Grand Prix after he drove the team's FW24 on a promotional day at Indy last year.

Gordon, 32, said: "If I'd had the opportunity to do F1 10 years ago, I think I'd have been over like a shot, but it's a whole different scene - different cars, different circuits, different way or working, different people, everything."

Expect the Williams driver scenario to run for some time yet...