Verstappen would rather drive a Jaguar

Minardi is one of the teams that has yet to confirm a driver line-up for 2004 but it seems unlikely that Jos Verstappen will stay with the Faenza squad. The Dutchman has been unhappy with Minardi's performance this season and is hoping to move on to ...

Minardi is one of the teams that has yet to confirm a driver line-up for 2004 but it seems unlikely that Jos Verstappen will stay with the Faenza squad. The Dutchman has been unhappy with Minardi's performance this season and is hoping to move on to pastures new in 2004.

Jos Verstappen.

Photo by Brousseau Photo.

According to Dutch magazine Race Report, Verstappen thinks the parts used by Minardi are old and unreliable, which was reportedly the least of his complaints. He was also quoted as saying he would be happy when his time with Minardi was over.

Verstappen has been linked with a possible move to Jordan or Jaguar and he knows which he would prefer: "At Jordan I could perhaps have the team going a bit more my way, but I'd rather drive a Jaguar," he commented.

"It could be difficult in the beginning and I might need to fight even harder, but if I'd have a good race engineer, I think I can come a long way."

Not long after the media picked up on the magazine report, Verstappen told his website that his comments regarding Minardi had been misinterpreted. "Of course I have said things which are not always positive," he explained. "Call it emotional, in the heat of the moment. How it is then published is completely wrong and misconstrued."

Verstappen was on the test track at Mugello this week, working on the PS04, which is likely to be the basis of next year's chassis. While the rumour mill chews over the Dutchman's future, it's not ignoring Minardi either. The Italian press recently reported the team is on the brink of a buy-out from a group of businessmen, which Minardi promptly denied.