JV says F1 return was no waste
Jacques Villeneuve has insisted that his three-race return with Renault was not a complete waste of time - even though he failed to score a single point for the French car manufacturer
The former world champion took time to fully get up to speed with the race pace required in modern Formula 1 and failed to match the performance of team-mate Fernando Alonso as Renault lost its fight with rivals BAR for second place in the constructors' championship.
But despite not delivering what was expected of him, Villeneuve claims that the three-race stint was of a huge personal benefit as he gears up for a full-time return in F1 with Sauber in 2005.
"It was very useful for me to prepare my next season," said Villeneuve looking back on his experience in China, Japan and Brazil. "Unfortunately there were no points to celebrate, but at least in Brazil I was competitive.
"At the end of the race [in Interlagos] there were 24 seconds between Fernando and I and that was the gap he opened in the first few laps when the track favoured the tyre choice he had made.
"To get back into action was good for the physical side and the mental side. It's good to have an opportunity before winter testing and to find out where I am in comparison with others."
Although Villeneuve joined Alonso in starting the Brazilian Grand Prix on dry tyres, he was unable to match the pace of his team-mate because he was on the harder compound - which took longer to get up to operating temperature in the damp conditions.
"I did a good start, but then I got passed by a couple of cars and found myself on the wrong line, so I lost more places," explained Villeneuve about his race. "In the first five laps it was very difficult to keep a good rhythm and then I was too far back to make an impact.
"On the hard tyres it was far more difficult for me on the early laps than it was for Fernando, who was on the soft tyres. But we couldn't have known that when we chose the tyres on Friday night.
"With the second set of tyres we were quicker, so it was the right choice for normal conditions."
Villeneuve is due to start testing for Sauber at the end of November, when Formula 1's annual winter testing ban comes to an end.
Bathurst 12 Hour: Van Gisbergen Mercedes leads after first quarter
Shane van Gisbergen’s Triple Eight Mercedes headed Matt Campbell’s Manthey Porsche after three hours of racing at Mount Panorama in the Bathurst 12 Hour.
Tanak scores first Puma win in preparation for WRC Rally Sweden
Ott Tanak claimed his first victory driving an M-Sport Ford Puma after winning the Otepaa Winter Rally in preparation for next week’s World Rally Championship round in Sweden.
Ranking the worst Formula 1 cars to win a grand prix
Cars that rarely looked like contenders for victory have occasionally slipped through the net to become winners of world championship Formula 1 races. But which was the worst of the bunch?
Schumacher radio criticism highlighted F1 privacy change for Russell
George Russell says that the way an off-the-cuff radio remark criticising Mick Schumacher last year became a big deal shows how he is more under the spotlight in Formula 1.
How Tyrrell became a racing Rubik’s cube as it faded out of F1
Formula 1’s transformation into a global sport meant the gradual extinction for a small team determined to stay true to its low-budget roots. But Tyrrell would eventually be reborn as a world-beating outfit again, explains MAURICE HAMILTON, albeit in different colours…
Assessing Hamilton's remarkable decade as a Mercedes F1 driver
Many doubted Lewis Hamilton’s move from McLaren to Mercedes for the 2013 Formula 1 season. But the journey he’s been on since has taken the Briton to new heights - and to a further six world championship titles
Why new look Haas is a litmus test for Formula 1’s new era
OPINION: With teams outside the top three having struggled in Formula 1 in recent seasons, the rules changes introduced in 2022 should have more of an impact this season. How well Haas does, as the poster child for the kind of team that F1 wanted to be able to challenge at the front, is crucial
The Mercedes F1 pressure changes under 10 years of Toto Wolff
OPINION: Although the central building blocks for Mercedes’ recent, long-lasting Formula 1 success were installed before he joined the team, Toto Wolff has been instrumental in ensuring it maximised its finally-realised potential after years of underachievement. The 10-year anniversary of Wolff joining Mercedes marks the perfect time to assess his work
The all-French F1 partnership that Ocon and Gasly hope to emulate
Alpine’s signing of Pierre Gasly alongside Esteban Ocon revives memories of a famous all-French line-up, albeit in the red of Ferrari, for BEN EDWARDS. Can the former AlphaTauri man's arrival help the French team on its path back to winning ways in a tribute act to the Prancing Horse's title-winning 1983?
How do the best races of F1 2022 stack up to 2021?
OPINION: A system to score all the grands prix from the past two seasons produces some interesting results and sets a standard that 2023 should surely exceed
Who were the fastest drivers in F1 2022?
Who was the fastest driver in 2022? Everyone has an opinion, but what does the stopwatch say? Obviously, differing car performance has an effect on ultimate laptime – but it’s the relative speed of each car/driver package that’s fascinating and enlightening says ALEX KALINAUCKAS
Why F1's nearly man is refreshed and ready for his return
He has more starts without a podium than anyone else in Formula 1 world championship history, but Nico Hulkenberg is back for one more shot with Haas. After spending three years on the sidelines, the revitalised German is aiming to prove to his new team what the F1 grid has been missing
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.