Indy F1 Track Reminds Villeneuve of Go-Karting

The Indianapolis oval is one of the world's fastest circuits but the Formula One layout holds few thrills for Jacques Villeneuve.

The Canadian won the Indy 500 race and the CART championship before moving to Formula One and taking that title in 1997. Sunday's Grand Prix at The Brickyard uses only part of the high-speed banked oval before twisting off through the infield, and Villeneuve is underwhelmed.

"It's strange to be here and not racing on the oval," the British American Racing (BAR) driver said Thursday. "It's a fun track to drive. But...it's not very interesting. There's no corner where your heartbeat goes up. It's more like, you know, playing with go-karts with your friends."

Villeneuve said he remembered last year's Grand Prix as being "more like a game than a race" but was hopeful of scoring some points.

"Our car didn't seem to be suited to any track this year, so I don't think there will be anything special here," he said. "But we seem to be always a lot better off in the races than in qualifying. This being a track where you can overtake, then that's one of the tracks where we should be able to get in the points."

Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa, who drives for Jaguar, said the track needed lengthening to make it more exciting.

"It's one of the shortest circuits," he said. "We need to lengthen the track, make it more interesting with a couple of corners, quicker corners."