Although Jordan has said repeatedly that it is on the verge of announcing a deal with Toyota for engines in 2006, there is still no official confirmation that the deal has been done, leading to speculation that it might not happen.

Speaking at Hockenheim today however, John Howett confirmed that the Japanese manufacturer is committed to supply the Silverstone-based team.

"The position of Toyota is that we are committed to supply Jordan," he said. "I am not sure there is a rush to make an announcement from our side. We are still finalising contractual details and to some extent the ball is in Jordan's court, but I can confirm that our intention is to supply Jordan with engines next year.

"We have had an approach from Williams, to our corporate headquarters in Japan," he revealed, "which has been referred back to us and there is some informal discussion moving forward. But I think we have no intentional capability to supply next year.

"It is dangerous to say never," he added, "but I think it is fundamentally too late now to actually establish the production volumes we need to supply that kind of demand."