Jacques Villeneuve Q&A
Jacques Villeneuve put in a spirited performance in the Italian GP, eventually climbing to sixth place. This was a rare points finish for the Canadian, who has been dogged by appalling reliability this year, but it came at the right time. It's been widely assumed for most of the season that Honda's man Takuma Sato will take JV's seat at BAR next season, although not everyone in the camp seems to want that to happen. However, that does not make Jacques the automatic alternative, and it could well be that a third party such as Bjorn Wirdheim enters the equation. It seems that Villeneuve himself has yet to be told for sure that he won't be racing, although discussions with team boss David Richards about the possibility of staying - inevitably at a much reduced salary - don't seem to have got very far. Indeed some sources even suggest that he has been offered a token $1 salary plus bonuses, with no guarantee that he will finish the season if he doesn't perform. Adam Cooper spoke to Jacques after the race
"It was just a race like we should have had many times this year. The car didn't have any problems, and that allowed us to show that the work we've done in the weekend paid off in the race. We gave up a few tenths in qualifying, but it paid off in the race. Today we could show because there were no problems on the car. The crew did an amazing job in the pits, and that allowed us to overtake Panis."
"We're still behind the top four teams. So the best we can do if nobody has problems is ninth, but we still have to keep pushing as hard as we can, because there are still a few points we can get. It will depend on the tyres. Here the tyres were comparable with the opposition. If that's the case, then we have a small chance. If it goes back to how it was in the last few races, then we won't have a chance."
"It feels good because I can go home with a smile. The sad thing is that it will have no effect on what happens with me next year."
"I'm always like that. It's not just at the moment. It's just that I've always concentrated on race set-up, on race strategy, on race everything, which may mean that you pay a price in qualy. Which is OK, as long as the car doesn't break down in the race. But this is the fifth time in the season when I don't have a problem during the race, so it makes us look like we've been ****ing all year, when actually every time we concentrated to do a job like today. It's just that today it paid off."
"They're hugely valuable for Honda, but sadly they're the ones who are against me for next year."
"The people who are behind me and push for me, it will make them feel better about it. The people who are against me, they'll just have to scratch their heads a little bit harder to find reasons to be against me, that's all, but they'll still be against me. Once companies make decisions, then they stick with it, and they'll find any excuse they can for their decisions to be valid."
"No, the decision hasn't been made, there are different parties fighting. But this will not really have an effect, sadly."
"There is no deal at the moment. There has been no offer."
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