Verstappen misses out on HVM seat.

Jos Versteppen will have to look for alternative employment in 2005 after missing on the chance to compete for the HVM team in the Champ Car World Series.

The former F1 driver was believed to be the hot favourite to secure a drive with the team formally known as Herdez Competition, where he would have lined up alongside former Jaguar test driver Bjorn Wirdheim.

However, despite taking part in a number of tests with the team, Toyota Atlantic driver Ronnie Bremer will join Wirdheim for the 2005 season, leaving Verstappen on the outside looking in.

"Obviously, Jos was very popular and had a lot of support to come here," HVM managing director Keith Wiggins said. "I think Champ Car was keen to have him and he certainly would have been another good driver.

"It's just a case of putting everything in place. Quite honestly, we were late in doing everything, so therefore when it is last minute, things can change pretty quickly. I mean, you can negotiate with drivers, and that may take you three or four months. We managed to condense everything into a couple of weeks, so things are going to change quickly.

"Ultimately, he would have loved to have done it, but we couldn't get the package to work and for everything to gel to everybody's satisfaction."