Jacques Villeneuve Q&A

"Last year was the second year and there was a big improvement from the first year. Everybody was working hard, and even during the season you could see the team was going somewhere. Both the team and Honda were working hard and making progress. And that gave me confidence for the future."



"The first car test wasn't good, but already it seems to have been improved since the first test. We learned a lot from it. It's going to look good in the near future."



"There wasn't a strong point yet, because there were still some aerodynamic things missing, and we were a little bit out on the set-up - we didn't understand the whole car. We worked hard on it and we improved it, and then the car got back to the factory and they understood more the work we did. A lot of changes have happened and apparently now it's a lot better."



"Yes, because the car was completely out on set-up and everything, but it was still OK. Once we get the car working properly, then it should be very good."



"It's the same for everybody else in that there are new aerodynamic regulations, which make the cars quite a bit more difficult to drive. So far we haven't understood it completely, but it's coming together. Last year's car was very reliable, so we can concentrate on making it quicker."



"Well, to improve from last year, but that means a minimum of getting onto the podium, and a victory. And to be in the top three in the championship."



"Is it? Anything is possible..."



"Yeah, else I would have gone somewhere else."



"You need everything. A bad engine in a good car doesn't do much, and a bad car with a good engine doesn't go anywhere either. So you need everything, and the driver as well - to be working well together. One aspect is not enough."



"What you have to say is that 2000 was a big improvement on '99, and if we do the same improvement again, then we'll be in the front. I want at least the same improvement."



"If the team doesn't go up or forward, then I will not stick with it. They know that, and I don't think anybody would expect - in the team anyway - anything different."



"Great, because we'll be in front of the other one. They can do all the spade work!"



"The rivalry is with anybody out there, anybody that is in front of us or close by. Jordan has been a quick team in the past, but not every year and not every race, so it's very difficult to know in advance if they are going to be up there or if they are going to mess up completely."



"The new engine is not actually very different to last year's, for now. It's mainly an engine so that we can test. I don't know when the evolutions are coming. I didn't find out yet."



"It's quietened down a lot. It didn't have any negative... Well it had negative influences, but we still managed to work properly through them, and now it should be easy. But it is very energy-sapping, because you spend a lot of your time concentrating on that, instead of just driving and setting the car up. So it was quite annoying. But now it seems to have settled down."



"It's great. The quicker he goes the quicker I'll have to go, so that's going to be exciting. It's going to push the team as well. The team needed an experienced driver in its first two seasons, and Ricardo wasn't experienced. So it made working a little bit difficult. I think are going to a lot better with Olivier. He's got a lot of experience and he's a hard worker. He's fast, he's solid and he's won a race before. That's definitely going to help everybody."



"No, the best teams and the best drivers will be at the front. The only good thing about that is that it will take away any doubts that anybody can have about other people cheating. It will be open. So that's the good side about it. That's the only good side actually! Everyone can have a good start, and stuff like that, so that's a little disappointing. I don't think it will help overtaking. The car in front will not make a mistake in a corner, because you don't have to control the car so much. It's not going to make overtaking easier - maybe more difficult."



"I don't know when in the future, I don't know whether it's next year or in two years or soon, but I believe it can be done. I would not have stayed."



"Partly that's the main thing, but also to see the hard work coming to fruition. That's a very positive thing also."



"No the hunger has always been there. It's not because you've won it once that you don't want to win it any more. But of course once you've won it, once you've achieved something that you wanted to do, it could lead you to lose motivation. But don't worry, two years without results has helped to get it back!"



"I drove a little bit with Juan Pablo, because he was our test driver at Williams. But he was still very, very young and immature. I think he's grown up in the States. I have no idea what he's worth now, I have no idea what he can do as a driver. I saw some of the racing in America, but this is a different world. But he's quick, so he should be able to adapt. We'll wait and see. He's a little bit arrogant though, that's what came out of the States. So I don't know how long he's going to stay in F1!"



"To tell you the truth I didn't spend time sitting down thinking which one is going to start and come in and start kicking our butt. I've no idea. When Zanardi came after winning in the States he was a disappointment. The same can happen to Juan Pablo, or maybe Juan Pablo can improve. If he cannot improve then it will be a disappointment. To come over from the States to keep your performance in F1 then you need to improve."



"No not much. A little bit at the tests. But he's always smiling! He was very quick. I followed him a little bit in Barcelona, and he was almost crashing every corner. He was driving a little bit too hard. But in the session he did at Jerez he was calmer, and I think he did a better job. It's not the speed that's important in a test driver, it's the work that's being done. He's there to drive, he's not there to do the development of the car. We already have the drivers for that; now it's more that there are two young drivers there so the team can see if they are good or not."



"It's so long ago! I don't remember. It was exciting to be at the start of an F1 race, and I was at the front anyway, so the feeling was great. That probably was one of the best races of the year. Then it went a little bit downhill after that; it became a little bit more difficult after the first race. So the first race remains a very positive memory."



"It was hard, because 24 hours is quite a long way to go, although we slept a little bit. The most difficult thing was the party after the 24 hours. That was the hardest part!"



"I've been ski-ing since I was eight, and I've done some racing. It's like I'm going on a bicycle. It never feels like I'm doing something dangerous. If you sit down and think about it then yes, but that's also the reason why I'm a race car driver. It's part of my personality. If I didn't let myself ski like that, then I don't think I could drive either."