Castroneves still awaiting full verdict

The jurors have now been deliberating the case for five days, having asked for various additional clarifications during the week to help unravel the complex tax legalities at the heart of the charges.

Yesterday the jury said it had reached a verdict on two of the seven charges against Castroneves but remained hung on the others.

Judge Donald Graham kept the verdicts sealed and ordered that urged the jurors to find common ground on the remaining issues. They continued deliberating into the afternoon and will resume this morning.

The prosecution alleges that Castroneves failed to declare income from sponsorship and licensing deals worth $7 million between 1999 and 2004, having placed the money in a Panamanian company.

The defence has argued that the money was deferred income which Castroneves would not have received until later this year, and would then have paid all due tax on. His attorney has suggested that Castroneves relied on advisors to handle his finances and had no control over the company in question.

The double Indianapolis 500 winner's Penske team has always insisted that Castroneves can immediately return to its IndyCar Series programme if he is exonerated, and would have run him in this weekend's Long Beach event had a not guilty verdict come through earlier this week.

Will Power is currently deputising for Castroneves alongside St Petersburg race winner Ryan Briscoe at Penske.