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Jose Maria Lopez in line for US F1 drive

Jose Maria Lopez: scheduled to travel to Britain and Austria in the next few days for physical training © Sutton Images

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Jose Maria Lopez is in line for a race seat at USF1 and the other may go to the British driver James Rossiter, according to reports from Argentina.

Corsa claimed Lopez, who has not raced a single seater since GP2 in 2006, has recently done two days to re-acclimatise at the wheel of a Formula 3 car. The report added that Lopez would bring sponsors with him to US F1.

"In the last weeks we made much progress, but the holidays were a complication," his manager Felipe McGough said. "They are sensitive contracts. We must have patience. The idea is that the team makes the announcement."

In late November it emerged that Lopez had penned a deal conditional on the completion of his US$8m sponsor package. It is believed the delay in the finalisation of the contract is to organise bank guarantees to cover the sponsor funds.

Other reports said the team's sporting director Peter Windsor is already working on obtaining a Super Licence for Lopez and is confident of the outcome due to his Renault test duties of some years ago.

Lopez is scheduled to travel to Britain and Austria in the next few days for physical training, before going to Charlotte for seat fittings and official team events at the end of January.

According to lavoz.com.ar, Lopez said: "I think that on about the 25th (of January) I am going to go to North Carolina for the official presentation of the team, and if need be some checks on the car before the official February tests in Valencia."

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