Pollock: Villeneuve Feeling Slow

"Slow, he is feeling slow," replied Pollock when asked about Villeneuve's feelings after Friday's practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

"He is feeling pragmatic, the car is not fast enough, he hasn't had any time in it really to have it set up but he has got this weekend coming up and he is hoping to get the best set-up out of the car and then it is up to the team to improve the speed of the car.

"He would always be happier if the car was faster, the car is not faster, I don't think the team is happy, he is not happy about it but they have got to work together. We have been in this sort of situation before and we know what we are dealing with."

The 1997 World Champion has struggled for pace with the Sauber team in the first two races of the season. The 33-year-old finished 13th in Australia and skidded out in Malaysia while running in 14th position. He has been hampered by Sauber's lack of testing, the Swiss squad having not done any running between Malaysia and Bahrain.

In today's practice the Canadian was 20st quickest while teammate Felipe Massa finished in 17th over half a second ahead.

Despite his performance so far, Pollock denied Villeneuve's future at Sauber was in danger and said he could not be released of his contract based on poor showings.

"It is all stupidity, in reality," Pollock said of the reports claiming Sauber are searching for a replacement for the Canadian.
 
"They [performance clauses] do not exist in the contract. Contracts are as firm as anything but in Formula One they can be as firm as you want but they are always ways around them."