Damon Hill's Formula One career is expected to formally come to an end today.

The former world champion is scheduled to begin a three-day test session for his Jordan team at Silverstone tomorrow but is almost certain to confirm his retirement before then.

The Jordan team are keen for a quick decision - although many believe it has already been taken - because they need to sort out a replacement for the British Grand Prix on Sunday week.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen's victory in the French Grand Prix consolidated Jordan's third place in the manufacturers' championship, but they need to get a short-term successor in place soon for the last nine races of the season.

The British Grand Prix is also a vital one for the team, which is based just a stone's throw from the Silverstone track, and whoever races in Hill's place will need to test there this week.

Shinji Nakano, the team's Japanese test driver, will - as scheduled - conduct sole testing duties today. Hill was due tomorrow with Frentzen joining on Thursday.

Nakano could be in line for a step up to racing, particularly with the team's Mugen-Honda engine connection.

But Holland's Jos Verstappen was last night emerging as favourite to fill Hill's boots for the rest of the campaign.

Verstappen replaced Denmark's Jan Magnussen in the Stewart team midway through last season and has also raced for Benetton, Simtek, Arrows and Tyrrell.

The 27-year-old has competed in 57 grands prix with a best result of third, but he is chiefly remembered for the fireball which engulfed his Benetton during a refuelling stop in Germany in his debut year of 1994.

Verstappen escaped with minor burns and in his next outing in Hungary scored his maiden podium finish, adding another third place in Belgium later in the season.

Finland's Mika Salo, Verstappen's Tyrrell team-mate in 1997, is another candidate, while Jordan is also stepping up his search for a long-term successor to 1996 world champion Hill.

That is thought to include Colombia's Juan Montoya, who increased his ChampCar lead with a fourth victory in Cleveland on Sunday night, and Brazil's Gil de Ferran, who has also won in the American-based series this year.

An emotional Hill admitted after retiring from Sunday's dramatic race in France that it was possibly his last, and there have been no indications that he has changed his mind.

Jordan revealed yesterday that Hill had "slipped away" from Magny-Cours last night to sort out his future. Hill has been discussing his plans with his wife Georgie and his advisers, knowing his legion of fans are keen to see him race at Silverstone one last time.

But Hill, a winner 22 times in his 106-race career, dreads the thought of bowing out in front of his home supporters with another wretched performance.

"I don't think those fans will want to see me tugging around at the back. That would hurt me too much - I couldn't do it," Hill said on Sunday. Hill was running last in France when an engine problem brought his race to an end after he reached the start grid only by dint of a stewards' decision, having failed to meet the qualifying time.

The Dublin-based driver, who has earned around £25 million since entering Formula One in 1992, has clearly lost the desire and motivation to compete and wants to spend more time with his four young children.

Team chief Eddie Jordan has also questioned whether he could let Hill race in his current frame of mind and Jordan's commercial director, Ian Phillips, said yesterday: "We want to finish third in the championship. He (Hill) knows that and if the best contribution he can make is to step down to allow somebody else to take his seat he has said that is what he will do."