Nunn eyes Zanardi for CART comeback

However the 61 year-old former Ganassi engineer is realistic about his chances of renewing his ultra-successful relationship with the Italian.

'I'm not sure he'll come back to the United States and he may have enough money that he'll retire,' said Nunn.

'As far as I know, his contract has not been settled and as of this moment, I believe he's still with Williams.'

The Nunn/Zanardi partnership secured back-to-back CART titles for Chip Ganassi's team in 1997/8. Ironically if Zanardi proves unavailable, the man most likely to take the seat is the driver he replaced at Ganassi, Bryan Herta.

'I've talked with Bryan and he's obviously got the ability to win races,' said Nunn.

However, when Herta drove for Ganassi in 1995, Nunn was instrumental in his dismissal at the end of the season, professing doubts about the young American's potential. His opinion has mellowed since then though:

'Bryan was pretty young when we were together and maybe I was a little too hard on him.'

Herta also has the chance of a seat with Dan Gurney's All-American Racers.

Other drivers considered by Nunn included F3000 star Bruno Junqueira and former Hogan driver Helio Castro Neves. The latter came close to joining the team before choosing Penske instead, while Junqueira preferred to stay in Europe and go for the F3000 title.

Tarso Marques and Jan Magnussen have also been mentioned in connection with the drive, while Alex Barron and Memo Gidley are known to have contacted Nunn.

However, it is clear that Nunn's ideal scenario would be to renew his links with Zanardi. Asked if there were any disadvantages to running a one-car team, he replied:

'It would totally depend on who your drivers are. You could run a one-car team with Zanardi or Montoya, and they wouldn't need a second car. Some drivers need the help, others don't...'