Villeneuve confirms Durango tie-up

Amid a string of rumours about Villeneuve's plans, potential backers and partners, he issued a statement acknowledging that reports in Italy of a Durango tie-up were true, but attempting to quash any further speculation about the project.

"There are a number of rumours circulating at the moment and I wanted to clarify a few things before this gets out of hand," said Villeneuve.

"The team will be a joint venture with Durango, and based out of Italy. To be clear, right now all the money comes from corporate sponsorship, and not from personal investors."

Durango announced its intention to apply for a 2011 F1 entry earlier this year. The team had withdrawn from GP2 due to funding issues and said it had attracted backers more interested in an F1 bid than the feeder series. It has spent this season racing in the new Auto GP category.

Villeneuve last raced in F1 in mid-2006 with BMW Sauber, but had been set for a return with Stefan GP this season had the Serbian squad received an entry. He has since returned to NASCAR and will attempt to qualify for this weekend's Sprint Cup race at Indianapolis.