Jacques Villeneuves chances of remaining at Sauber BMW appear to have been strengthened after Renault boss Flavio Briatore claimed Heikki Kovalainen will remain under his wing in 2006.
There has been speculation that Briatore, who manages Kovalainen, would loan the GP2 star to BMW for a year to groom him for a Renault race seat the following year.
But Briatore has flatly refuted that suggestion and insisted that Kovalainen will be a Renault test driver next year.
Its simply not true that he will race for Sauber [BMW] in 2006, Briatore told Italian magazine Autosprint.
Kovalainen will be our test driver and will do the same development programme followed by Fernando Alonso.
Villeneuves position is still in doubt as BMW has steadfastly declined to confirm that it will honour his existing contract with Sauber.
But Kovalainen was the favourite to take the Canadians place and BMW may have decided that it would cost too much money to pay Villeneuve off.