Richards Supports Villeneuve-CART Idea

British American Racing team boss David Richards supports the idea of Jacques Villeneuve making a return to CART next year, allowing BAR to focus the 2003 season on car development.

Richards is looking for options to retain Villeneuve and Olivier Panis next season despite the appointment of young Briton Jenson Button at Brackley-based BAR. To that end, he now suggests Villeneuve should return next season to the Player's Forsythe team, where he made his name in 1994 and 1995, and who - like BAR - are sponsored by British American Tobacco.

"This is Jacques' call," Richards told Motorsport News. "[But] it could give us the interesting opportunity to have a year concentrating on technical development and then see what we can achieve.

"I would like to see that happen. Player's is a BAT-owned brand in their last year of sponsorship in CART racing, so they would like to have Jacques leading the team.

"But Jacques has a valid contract with us so it is his call. We need to have a decision by the end of the month and I hope to sit down with Jacques and discuss it further at the Hungarian Grand Prix."

Forsythe admitted that they are in discussions to bring a "star" back to Champ Car racing. "We're looking for opportunities to run three cars next year and we're looking to bring back somebody to our series who's got star power. But it is very much in the early stages," a spokesman for the team said.

Nevertheless, Villeneuve's manager Craig Pollock dismissed the idea, stating that only "an absolute fortune" would make that offer viable for the former World Champion.

Villeneuve has been in dispute with Richards for much of the season over his estimated $20 million a-year salary, but he has refused to take a pay-cut. He has one-year of his current deal left to run, while Frenchman Panis is out-of-contract this season. But Richards has signalled his intent to retain Panis, who he regards highly, in his line-up for the 2003 season alongside Button.