de la Rosa closing on return?

Pedro de la Rosa is on the verge of being confirmed as one of the drivers in Prodrive's inaugural Formula One line-up, despite news from the Banbury equipe being a little thin on the ground in recent weeks.

Since cancelling an announcement on the programme scheduled for the British Grand Prix, there have been the usual slew of rumours surrounding Prodrive's entry to the top flight - including those suggesting that team owner David Richards had 'fallen out of bed' with McLaren - but speculation in Spain insists that de la Rosa's position as the team's first signing is secure.

The 36-year old is currently fulfilling testing duties for McLaren, but marca.com claims that he is expecting to be confirmed as a race driver for Prodrive within the next week or so, possibly at this weekend's Turkish GP. That would suggest that ties between the two British outfits remain strong, although confirmation that Prodrive will buy customer chassis from Woking is expected to be a little longer in coming.

Fellow McLaren development driver Gary Paffett has been touted as a potential team-mate for de la Rosa in 2008, having accepted a DTM drive - in a year-old car - at the behest of Mercedes. The Briton is known to be looking for F1 opportunities next season, but openings appear scant should he fail to land the second seat at Prodrive.