Frustrated Villeneuve Hints at Leaving BAR

Former World Champion Jacques Villeneuve has dropped a hint that he may not stay at struggling British American Racing (BAR) beyond this season.

"I hate being uncompetitive," the Evening Standard newspaper quoted the Formula One driver as saying. "Nobody likes it. It is frustrating and it's very tiring. You have to push people to work harder, to make sure it gets better in the long term.

"But the long term is getting shorter and shorter. I'll see what happens in the next couple of months. I won't stick with it forever. There comes a point when enough is enough."

BAR have yet to score a point this season and Villeneuve, the 1997 champion with Williams, has only two third place finishes to show for four seasons with the team. The 31-year-old signed a new multi-year contract last season, before friend and former team principal Craig Pollock was replaced at the helm by David Richards.

Richards was also quoted in Motorsport News magazine this week as suggesting that he would rather spend money on improving the car than on expensive drivers.

"It's foolish having Michael Schumacher driving a Minardi," he said. "It's better to get the race car right and then go and employ Schumacher later."

"There was a risk coming to BAR," said Villeneuve, whose salary is estimated by paddock insiders to be the highest in Formula One after Ferrari's Schumacher. "It didn't pay off and that's fine.

"I've learned a lot and I'm a better driver than I was. It wasn't Craig's fault that the car wasn't fast. Someone had to have their head chopped and he was team principal so it's normal that he got chopped.

"The decision that is more difficult to accept is to have stayed with the team when I re-signed the contract, because there had been two years of no result and there was obviously no reason for the team to get better."