Villeneuve Downbeat after Poor Race

Former World Champion Jacques Villeneuve was downbeat after a very disappointing first race with Sauber at Australian Grand Prix.

Despite starting the race from a strong fourth position thanks to yesterday's rain-hit qualifying session, the Canadian struggled during the 57-lap event. After a very poor opening lap on which he dropped down to 11th position, Villeneuve failed to recover.

The 1997 World Champion finished down in 13th position, over a lap down.

"That was a very disappointing race," admitted the Canadian. "We were a lot slower than I thought we would be. The car was very difficult to drive and I couldn't get any grip at the start. That's it."

His teammate Felipe Massa enjoyed a better day despite starting from the back of the grid, the Brazilian fighting his way into the top 10.

"It was pretty difficult to drive the car with a lot of fuel aboard but I managed reasonable times and was keeping ahead of Michael and Kimi until I got very close to Nick one lap and lost grip in his turbulence," said Massa.

"Anyway, I just did what I could and finishing 10th wasn't so bad when you look where I started. In the circumstances, with lots of fuel, the car was good."