Formula One team Jordan still hope to sign Italian Giorgio Pantano as their second driver for the forthcoming season but a deal remained elusive this evening.
"We are just waiting for everything to fall into line," Ian Phillips, the team's director of business development, explained.
While Jordan waited for confirmation that sponsorship agreements were in order, the 25-year-old Italian continued to test their new car at the southern Spanish Jerez circuit for the second day. The team said Pantano completed 24 laps in a session hampered by airport and airline baggage handlers misplacing key parts sent from the Jordan factory overnight.
Pantano said on yesterday he was 99 per cent certain of securing the last remaining seat for the championship starting in Australia on March 7th.
However team sources suggested that a deal might not be finalised until the end of the week, with Pantano taking a break from testing until Friday. Others wondered whether experienced Dutch driver Jos Verstappen might yet find a way to force himself back into contention for the drive.
"As long as there is still a Jordan seat available, there is still hope for Jos," said his former Minardi team boss Paul Stoddart.
Verstappen has solid backing from Dutch sponsor Trust, whose logo appeared on the EJ14 when it made its track debut at Silverstone last week, but has twice broken off negotiations with Jordan in the past month.
Jordan have already signed Germany's Nick Heidfeld and all the other teams have finalised their line-ups.
Pantano, 25, was German Formula Three champion in 2000 and has tested for McLaren, Williams and Benetton in the past but lacked sufficient sponsorship to secure a race seat.
Allan McNish, the former Toyota driver who had hoped to secure the Jordan drive but instead announced a return to sportscars and the Le Mans 24-Hours race, said money had been the main sticking point for him.
"I would have loved to have raced with Jordan but it was clear the team required a guy who could bring a lot of funding with him," McNish said. "I've always believed in what I can do and not what I can buy."