McLaren confirms Jaguar approach for Wurz.

Alex Wurz's probable return to grand prix racing took another step towards reality last night, when sources at current employer McLaren confirmed that the Woking team had been approached by rivals Jaguar.

The lanky Austrian has been out of competitive Formula One for three years, having opted to take up a testing role with McLaren after losing his drive at Benetton. Since then, Wurz - a veteran of 52 grands prix - has been hankering after a return, but without actually landing a ride to compare with the chance of a possible third car or reserve role with McLaren.

Now, however, the former BMX champion is being touted as the likely replacement for struggling rookie Antonio Pizzonia at Jaguar - a move that is currently being denied by the Milton Keynes team but seemingly confirmed everywhere else.

Austrian newspapers all carried speculation of some degree over the weekend, with two all but claiming that the deal had been signed for the 29-year old Wurz to replace Pizzonia from the sixth round of the F1 season - at the A1-Ring, naturally - next month. Jaguar insists that it will continue to work with Pizzonia 'to support his development and growth', but the young Brazilian's days looked increasingly numbered following a leak from within McLaren's Woking factory.

"We have been approached by Jaguar and we are in discussions with them at the moment," a team source told Reuters last night.

It is widely believed that the only impediment to Wurz racing for Jaguar this season would be the willingness of team boss Ron Dennis and Mercedes motorsport chief Norbert Haug to release such an important - and knowledgeable - member of the squad transfer to a rival. McLaren has yet to reveal its new MP4-18 - ironically, it could do so in Austria on the weekend of 18 May. The team recently signed Pedro de la Rosa as a second test driver, but would be more concerned about Wurz possibly sharing technical secrets should he land a drive elsewhere.