Could Giorgio return to take crown?

Following news that his proposed CART deal has now fallen through, Giorgio Pantano is rumoured to be considering a possible return to the FIA F3000 Championship he narrowly missed winning in 2002.

The Italian came close to beating eventual champion Sebastien Bourdais to the crown, having gone into the final round at Monza in a three-way fight with the Frenchman and season-long rival Tomas Enge. Although results eventually went in Bourdais' favour, both he and Pantano came out of the campaign about equal, having earned F1 test drives with Renault and WilliamsF1 respectively, and both being touted for a ride in the CART series for 2003.

However, while Bourdais has since gone on to wow the Champcar fraternity with his pace in the second Newman-Haas Lola, Pantano's luck has again turned somewhat sour. Left to find a late deal in 2002, it now appears that the likeable Italian will be in a similar boat this year, having seen his chance of racing in CART scuppered by the non-existence of a deal with Dana Brewer's BC Motorsports team.

"We cancelled the agreement due to breach of several significant points in our agreement by BC Motorsports, and also due to the fact that the bond for participation in the CART Championship wasn't posted with the organisers," explained Pantano's manager Lars-Christian Brask, "Unfortunately the loser in this is Giorgio, who at the moment, is without a drive for 2003."

As usual, Pantano's major problem now lies with the need to raise a budget for the coming season. Having thought that he was to be backed by oil giant Sunoco in the USA, the Italian believed that he did not have to bring as much sponsorship to the table, but now finds himself in need of a financial windfall if he is to find a meaningful ride.

At present, he is being linked to the vacant test drive at Jordan in F1, but is also thought to be looking for a race seat elsewhere. Although neither he nor Brask has revealed if talks are being held, speculation suggests that the FIA F3000 series is the most likely destination.

There is one seat left in the Coloni squad that rescued his ambitions in 2002 - maybe the combination can go one better in 2003....