With no leaks from 'Planet Paddock', and bearing in mind the 'source' of the story, we took the headline "Pitchforth: Jaguar Sold", that appeared at the weekend, with a very, very, very large container filled with salt.

Seems that a comment made by Jaguar managing director David Pitchforth, had lost, or rather gained, something in translation, causing someone to put two and two together to make seven.

In fact, according to Pitchforth, the Milton Keynes outfit is nowhere near to being sold, and time is running out.

The "sold" story referred to Red Bull, which is one of several interested parties, indeed at the weekend, one British newspaper suggested that Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich, is "on pole position to take control of the Jaguar F1 racing".

Whatever, the team has until mid-November (15th) if it is to be on the grid in Melbourne next March.

"Time is of the essence but there's no decision, really," said Pitchforth, according to Reuters. "There's a process to go through that involves banks and lawyers and all that's happening as quickly as we can get it.

"We already have a relationship with Red Bull and it's nice. There's a lot of good stuff going on but it's not over until it's over."