Frentzen: No offer from Arrows.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen's reported meetings with Arrows boss Tom Walkinshaw appear unlikely to land the German a seat at Leafield next season, according to his manager.

Frentzen apparently held talks with Walkinshaw earlier in the week with a view to joining the Scot's team next season, but his manager, Monte Field, claims that there are no offers on the table.

"They had shown some interest earlier, but there have been no decisions and I don't think they want to replace anyone," Field told news agency Reuters.

Arrows has already confirmed Jos Verstappen for 2002, and has one seat open alongside the Dutchman. This could have been up for grabs until Dieter Mateschitz agreed to strengthen the team's ties with sponsor Red Bull - which happens to be a heavy backer of Verstappen's 2001 team-mate Enrique Bernoldi. Unless Arrows decides to perform a U-turn on Verstappen's contract, there would appear to be no space for Frentzen.

This would leave the German with two options, both currently at the back of the grid and struggling for finance. The three-time grand prix winner has already expressed an interest in staying with the Prost team which rescued his career after his sacking by Jordan, but the team may not make it to Melbourne next season without an injection of sponsorship. His other option is Minardi, which Field confirmed had also held talks with Frentzen.

"There are ongoing discussions with Prost, and there is a natural interest in staying there," Field said, "Heinz has driven well for them and they made some progress when he was there. I very much hope that they survive, but they have to sort out their financial situation."

Frentzen's one-time Prost partner, Luciano Burti, was last night revealed as Ferrari's new test driver, removing one opponent from the race for seats at the French team. Czech ace Tomas Enge remains favourite to land one of the two rides.