Jose Maria Lopez's move from USF1 to Campos before the start of the 2010 season is expected to be confirmed within the next 24 hours, after Lopez's management said that their driver's future is "clearer" after talks in Europe.
The details behind the move, and whether the deal will be a straight switch, or as part of a merger of the USF1 and Campos operations remains unclear when Lopez's representatives Felipe McGough and Parris Mullins, an advisor to YouTube founder Chad Hurley, were less than clear in their statements after their discussions were over.
Hurley was named by a mysterious USF1 insider yesterday as being the USF1 team's last realistic hope of being saved.
"We had six hours of meetings with the investors of the USF1 and the new owners of the Campos Meta team," McGough claimed to radio station Cadena 3 Cordoba.
"We discussed the possibility of a merger, but most important is that whatever the outcome, Jose Maria is included in the project."
In a separate interview with the Diario Hoy newspaper, McGough added that: "Although the clock is running against us and anxiety is great, I think that after the meetings the outlook for Lopez is clearer."
He also confirmed that Bernie Ecclestone has played a part in the round of discussions, and rumours suggest that there will be another set of discussions in Spain later today.
Meanwhile, another name linked to the second Campos seat that Lopez is aiming for has ruled himself out of the running, after FRenault 3.5 champion Bertrand Baguette said that his chances of securing the drive are slim in the face of competition from richer pay drivers.
"There remains a small chance to be on the grid of the first GP," he explained to the French media, "[But] my budget is not enough. The sponsors want a [F1] contract before they help me, but to have a contract, you need money."
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