Wilson Says Stoddart Expects Him to Leave

Briton Justin Wilson says that his current Minardi team boss Paul Stoddart is expecting him to join a bigger team in 2004.

The Northampton-based driver announced on Wednesday that his 'Invest in Wilson' share issue has oversubscribed following the decision to set himself up as a plc company to fund this season with Minardi.

But Wilson, who has yet to score a point in Formula One, believes that Minardi owner Stoddart is expecting him to leave the back-of-the-grid team for better things next season.

"I want to be in a more competitive environment next year and I think Paul Stoddart is expecting me to move on," Wilson said. "At any time of your career you are trying to impress and improve. It is part of the job to be there and prove that you are capable of being there.

"This is a very important part of my season to try and improve and get something sorted out for next season."

The former Formula 3000 champion had been linked with a move to Jaguar to join Mark Webber, who drove for Minardi last season, but Wilson played down those links.

"It would be very nice but as of yet the only person who is sorted out there is Mark," added Wilson, who pipped Webber to the F3000 title. "But this is the time of year when people are looking around."