Conciliatory Villeneuve is upbeat

Much has been said and written about the potential for fireworks between the BAR pair this year, but Villeneuve poured cold water on any such suggestions ahead of the first practice session in Melbourne.

"The relationship between me and Jenson is good," said the 1997 world champion. "There has never been a fight between us, it's just that when I was originally asked how I'd cope racing against a potential world champion, I asked people to relax a bit because Jenson hasn't yet had a chance to prove how quick he is.

"It's important to speak the truth. Halfway through last year the team worked hard at making me look an idiot and building Jenson up. I have to protect myself. I've been working my butt off for several seasons to get this car working and at last we seem to have done that. I want to benefit from that.

"Obviously this year won't be as special as 1997 but I'm upbeat because the team has something to race for. I'm very pleased with the car and you can make it do whatever you want. It's great fun to drive, even more so than the Williams I used to win the world championship in 1997."