Sadly, Jaguar's 2004 season ended in the worst possible way, with teammates Mark Webber and Christian Klien colliding, thereby ending any hope of an emotional points finish for the cat.

Now, the employees of Jaguar Racing, and indeed Cosworth, play a waiting game, a game that has surely wiped the smile from donkey's face.

Despite the claims that several purchasers are exceedingly close to doing a deal, there is nothing concrete on the table, and one can't help but feel that several would-be purchasers are playing a waiting game, hesitating as the mid-November deadline (for entry in the 2005 championship) draws ever nearer, before making a 'take it or leave it' offer for the Milton Keynes outfit.

The fact that two teams, Midland F1 and Dubai F1, have opted to start from scratch rather than purchasing Jaguar, or even Jordan, continues to puzzle most F1 insiders. At the weekend, one former team (part) owner described the situation as "crazy" and "nonsensical".

By purchasing an existing team, the new owners would not only save themselves having to provide the $48m bond for the FIA, they would also be eligible for a slice of the TV revenue from day one. In effect, having bought an existing team for the right price, they could have their money back within three or four years.

As for Cosworth, we hear that Australian-born Kevin Kalkhoven, who apart from his many business interests owns a major slice of Champ Cars, is getting over closer to a deal. Such a deal would be eminently sensible as far as Champ Cars in concerned, but it remains to be seen what would happen to the F1 side of the business. Surely as the threat to F1 from the GPWC grows, not to mention the on-going squabble over the introduction of 2.4 litre V8s, it would be wholly sensible for someone such as Bernie or Flavio to have access to a whole load of power-plants.

Just a thought.