Villeneuve: No Regrets over BAR Move

Canadian Jacques Villeneuve has said that he does not regret his decision to join the British American Racing team despite more than three years of struggle at the Brackley-based squad.

31-year old Villeneuve won the World Championship with the Williams team back in 1997 but left the British outfit at the end of 1998 to join BAR, who despite the initial hype failed to make an impression, with Villeneuve not scoring a single point in 1999.

Things have not been much better for Villeneuve after their first season, with only three third places as his best results in the past two seasons. However, the Canadian has claimed that he is not regretting the decision, although he admits he is frustrated.

"I don't regret it at all," Villeneuve said on Tuesday at a news conference at his Newtown restaurant in Montreal. "I made a decision and it didn't work out. We didn't get the results and it's been hard. But who knows if any other decision would have been better?

"Maybe I would have got hurt if I went somewhere else. I don't regret anything, but it's been difficult. It's been very hard and frustrating."

Due to the poor performance of the Brackley team in the past years, Villeneuve has been always making the headlines when it comes to rumours about his future. And although the Canadian admits he has offers to leave BAR, he says it's too early to talk about 2003.

"You always talk to other teams," he said. "We are human beings and the paddock can be very social at times. You end up saying hello to other team owners, very briefly. There's always offers. But it's too early in the season and everybody knows I have a contract for next season."

British American Racing will introduce a revised version of their Honda-powered 004 chassis at this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix, hoping to score their first points of the year.