Villeneuve Criticises 'Sissy' Rivals

Canadian Jacques Villeneuve branded his rivals "a bunch of sissies" for attempting to force the cancellation of Friday's Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying session.

The drivers, led by David Coulthard and Jarno Trulli, drew up a petition against driving in the torrential rain at Interlagos, but Villeneuve refused to sign it.

"I never saw the petition and if I had I would not have signed it," he said. "What would it bring to Formula One for us not to go and qualify? People would think that we are just a bunch of sissies. We can't do that. We are paid a whole lot of money and it would be an insult to the fans.

"Sure, there is a little risk in those conditions, but not enough not to drive. Formula One has been hurting for the past couple of years and it's very important for us to give a show and go out there and drive. If you think it is too dangerous then drive slowly."

Villeneuve admitted that, while running in the deluge again in Saturday's single lap qualifying session would be fine, it would be a different story in the race on Sunday.

"In qualifying there is only one car on the track at the same time so just drive slowly," Villeneuve added. "We have driven in the past with more water than that without traction control. But it is dangerous when you have a lot of cars on the track because a car could spin, stop in the middle of the racing line and you won't see it and in race conditions it would be crazy to race with that amount of water."

Villeneuve finished seventh in Friday qualifying session while his BAR-Honda teammate Button lost control of his car during his one-lap run and crashed through the polystyrene braking markers. Button, who finished the session last after aborting his lap, will start Saturday's crucial grid-deciding session first and could end up on the back of the grid if teams are faced with a drying track again.