Head confirms Zanardi talks

(11-Jul-98) - Patrick Head, the technical director of the Williams Formula
One team, has confirmed that the team is talking with Alex Zanardi about a
possible drive with their outfit - although their test driver Juan-Pablo
Montoya is also believed to be in the frame.

Head said, "We are talking to him (Alex) as well as our two existing
drivers but no contract has been signed with anybody yet. As we said at the
start of the season, it was always going to be at about this time of the
year that we wanted to finalise our driver arrangements for next
season."

Of Williams' current drivers, Heinz-Harald Frentzen is being linked with
Team Rahal in Champ Cars, while Jacques Villeneuve is linked with a move to
the new British American Racing outfit.

If both drivers left, that would leave two vacant seats at the team - with
Montoya a candidate for the second drive.

Although the Colombian's manager David Sears denied that they were in an
advanced stage of negotiations, he said, "If drivers drive racing cars
for very little money and get results then the jump will come."

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