Massa Welcomes Villeneuve Challenge

Brazilian Felipe Massa says he will enjoy the challenge of having former World Champion Jacques Villeneuve as his teammate next year.

The Sauber team announced on Wednesday Villeneuve has signed a two-year deal with them after the Canadian missed the majority of the current season following his exit from BAR at the end of the 2003 campaign.

Villeneuve is expected to return to Grand Prix action for next week's Chinese Grand Prix, racing for the Renault team after testing this week at Silverstone, as a replacement for Italian Jarno Trulli.

Massa, who returned to racing this year after spending 2003 testing for the Ferrari team, says having Villeneuve as his teammate will be a challenge he hopes will help him improve as a driver.

"I was warned some time ago of this possibility, that Jacques could sign for Sauber," Massa told Gazzetta dello Sport. "Of course, I didn't expect the announcement to come now, because Sauber still had to test some young drivers for next season.

"It was logical that a new teammate would come after Fisichella's departure. Personally I think it's best to have an expert and famous teammate: for me it's a challenge to do better than him. If that's what's going to happen, it would be fantastic. Villeneuve has shown in the past to be a good driver, and that's enough.

"For me it's the latest challenge. I started racing next to a fast driver such as Heidfeld, then in Ferrari I worked next to Schumacher, Barrichello, and even Badoer. I learned a lot from them and the same thing happened this year with Giancarlo.

"This way I improved much faster than it would have happened in a different situation. I'm very optimistic about the future, also because the car seems to me like it's constantly improving in testing too."