Paffett's chances hindered by F1
By Glenn Freeman Thursday, January 17th 2008, 16:02 GMT
Former DTM champion Gary Paffett's chances of landing a drive in Mercedes' fourth brand-new C-Class this year are likely to be hindered by an increase in his Formula One testing duties with McLaren.
"We're trying to finalise things at the moment," said the 2005 champion. "My job with McLaren is getting bigger, which is fantastic for me, but it means I've got a little bit less time to dedicate to DTM."
Paul di Resta is now favourite to land the drive, which was made available by Mika Hakkinen's retirement, after his excellent rookie performances last season in a two-year-old car.
The 2006 Formula Three Euroseries champion tested for the top-line HWA squad towards the end of last year.
Fellow Britons Macau F3 Grand Prix winner Oliver Jarvis and Champ Car racer Katherine Legge are also in contention for DTM drives after testing for Audi at Almeria, Spain last month.
Jarvis, who is looking at options in GP2, Champ Car, and Formula Nippon as well as DTM, told Autosport: "I loved driving the car and DTM is something I'm considering, but it's not entirely up to me. I'm keeping my options open."