JOBLESS Sebastian Bourdais is threatening legal action after being booted out of the Toro Rosso squad this week.

As predicted in last week's column, the 30-year-old Frenchman was ousted after a string of poor results which saw him score just six points in 27 races.

Bourdais said: "I am very disappointed and shocked by the decision taken by Scuderia Toro Rosso of not allowing me to drive for the team until the end of the current season.

"I consider that, in doing so, Scuderia Toro Rosso has breached its contractual duties towards me; also I believe that nothing in my behaviour would legitimate a decision of the team to terminate the contract.

"I think that the team's decision is in clear violation of Scuderia Toro Rosso's obligations under the agreement. I have instructed my lawyers to review the situation including the possibility of issuing legal proceedings."

"I am even more frustrated by the team's decision considering that the latter has been taken immediately before the Hungarian Grand Prix, where a new highly competitive racing package will be introduced by the team in order to try and overcome its current difficulties.

"I am convinced that if I was given the chance to race with such a new package I would have had the opportunity to achieve satisfactory results."

Insiders believe Spain's Jaime Alguersuari will take the vacant seat and at just 19-years -old he would become the youngest ever F1 driver.

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JOHNNY ON TOUR

JOHNNY HERBERT - drive

BRITISH favourite Johnny Herbert could be making a surprise return to BTCC racing next season.

The 45-year-old was back behind the wheel of the Team Dynamics' Honda Civic at the BTCC series' official test session at Rockingham this week - just a fortnight after racing the same car at Goodwood's Festival of Speed.

Herbert joined current Dynamics drivers David Pinkney and double world champion James Thompson and posted the 12th fastest time - just under a second off the pace.

He said: "That was great fun and I've seen what these lads get up to during a race so who knows - let's see¿

"Foremost, this was just to sample the car after the team asked me at Goodwood if I could do a bit of running to help with development.

"This was my first time on track in a BTCC race car, let alone a front-wheel drive racing car, but I'm very impressed with its performance and also the BTCC paddock setup as a whole."

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DANI'S GERMAN LESSON

DANI PEDROSA - winning in USA

HONDA MOTOGP rider Dani Pedrosa is confident of a win at the Sachsenring this weekend despite his huge accident at the track last year.

The Spaniard - who crashed out of the German GP last season, breaking his hand and ruining his 2008 title chances - is on a high this weekend after his surprising victory in the USA.

He said: "I've had some good results at this track and I take a lot of confidence into the race weekend at the Sachsenring because we're probably in the best shape we've been in for a while.

"The win at Laguna Seca was really important for me and the team because it proves that we've been making progress and we now have the pace to win races. I really like the Sachsenring circuit too and, despite what happened last year, I think we can be competitive again here."

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PEDRO'S CAMPOS CHANCE

OLD PALS ACT - Pedro de la Rosa (left) with his current McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton

NICE GUY Pedro de la Rosa has signed a contract to join F1 next season according to paddock insiders.

The long-standing McLaren test driver will finally return to a race seat in 2010 for new Spanish F1 outfit Campos Meta 1.

Despite numerous appearances for the Woking team as a stand-in driver, De la Rosa has not had a full-time drive since 2002, when he drove for the not-so competitive Jaguar Racing .

Campos, who will announce their line-up at the Valencia GP, are keen to have a Spanish driver and De la Rosa's experience makes him the perfect candidate.