OFFICIAL - Marques talks 'on hold' with Midland

In with a chance ?
By Huw Alban
December 12 2005

Yesterday we decided to run a story speculating that Tarso Marques could be ready to spring into the shoes of Nicky Pastorelli. Taking the bull by the horns we decided to ask Midland directly as to what the position was.

The story had been published some days before, but was rapidly being picked up by the more respected news sources. This, to my mind, added a certain amount of value to the initial speculation, hence voicing the views of those sources here.

Using our contacts with Midland, I felt confident enough to ask the question directly. "Although MF1 Racing's management was engaged in preliminary discussions with Tarso Marques approximately one month ago about the possibility of a testing role with the team, those talks have not progressed further and are currently on hold," a spokesperson told me. "This is our official position."

With the public statement that personal sponsorship may have become an issue for Pastorelli, this surely opens the door for the three hopefuls that tested for the team last week.

We understand that Midland are hoping that Pastorelli can resolve his own situation, but at the same time they were impressed with the way that Roman Rusinov and Markus Winkelhock handled themselves last week.

If we get more on this, then we'll let you know.