MAY 1, 2004

Villeneuve and Williams II

Jacques Villeneuve may be making some noise about a possible return to Formula 1 but while Jacques may be interested in returning to a team like Williams - which has a vacancy or two in 2005 - it is highly unlikely that the team is going to show much interest in him. This does not mean that the team would not talk with Villeneuve's manager Craig Pollock but the fact that there may have been some talk does not indicate any interest or willingness on the part of the team to revive Villeneuve's moribund F1 career. At 33 he is hardly a Spring Chicken in F1 terms and he lost a lot of credibility last season when he was largely overshadowed by Jenson Button. His attitude towards sponsors has always been eccentric and this is now also working against him as most F1 teams nowadays consider it essential to have drivers with communication skills and a willingness to engage in that side of the business. Given that Craig Pollock says that Villeneuve would only be interested in racing for someone who would give him a chance of fighting Michael Schumacher for the title, Williams is the only option and while the team politely says that it does not talk about drivers, our sources suggest that we are unlikely to see Jacques in a Williams again.

Still there is no harm in trying.