British F3 National Class and A1 GP star, Adam Carroll, has revealed that he is in the "middle of negotiations" for an F1 drive next season.

Attending the Champions of Motorsport dinner in Belfast, the Ulsterman told the Belfast Telegraph: "We're in the middle of negotiations with one of the new teams coming into F1 and I'm hopeful of winning a drive and making the final step to the top of the sport."

While there are currently as many as ten vacancies, the most likely team is Manor which is on the verge of being renamed Virgin Racing, according to the entry list released by the FIA earlier this week.

While Manor has already confirmed Timo Glock as its main driver, comments made by team boss John Booth over the course of the Macau Grand Prix weekend suggest that Brazilian Lucas di Grassi is being lined up for the second seat. Asked about the identity of the second driver, all Booth would reveal is that he might have been a previous winner of the Macau event. This would rule out Carroll and suggest di Grassi who won the prestigious F3 event for Manor in 2005.

One of the other remaining seats is with Renault, whose team boss, Bob Bell, is from Bangor and was also present at the Champions of Motorsport dinner.

However, in terms of the "new teams" suggested by Carroll, the other remaining vacancies are at Lotus, Campos and US F1.