Davidson upbeat over F1 future

Davidson had been one of the favourites to team-up with Felipe Massa at Sauber in 2005 after some ultra-impressive performances during Friday practice at grand prix meetings this year. But Peter Sauber moved quickly to confirm a deal with Villeneuve earlier this week, just as the French-Canadian is poised to make his return to F1 with Renault in the Chinese Grand Prix.

Speaking to autosport.com about the news, Davidson insisted the Sauber decision was not a major setback in his plans and that there were other opportunities for him in F1. He remains high on the list at BAR if the team loses Jenson Button, but must await October's decision of F1's Contracts Recognition Board, and he has also held talks with Jaguar.

Davidson said: "I'm not disappointed but it is surprising. We will see if it is the right decision for Sauber, because Jacques has been used to being in a team with a lot of funding and now he is going to have to keep calm and let them develop at their own pace."

Speaking about whether the Villeneuve saga showed that F1 teams were reluctant to opt for young drivers, Davidson said: "I don't know. I am not sure. Jacques has shown he was a fighter, he has shown he can be a fighter and if that is what Peter likes then that is what he is going to get.

"I would not say I am disappointed though. There are other avenues we are looking down and Sauber was probably our third choice. It always felt a bit cold there anyway in the meetings we had, because it always felt as if they had something already.

"As far as I am concerned, I am optimistic. We have got to wait and see what happens with Jaguar, who they are going to be and what they are going to be, but that looks fairly promising. We are also waiting on the decision from the CRB like everyone else."