Villeneuve says errors more costly now

"If you make a mistake and end up being wide then you suffer," Villeneuve told autosport.com during testing at Jerez.

"Last year you went straight, and you could get back up to speed. This should not happen again this year, [although] I have not driven enough to be sure about it.

"You want to carry the momentum, you probably pay a higher price if you make a mistake. A perfect lap does not probably need to change your driving style but you pay a higher price for your mistakes now."

The lack of torque from V8 engines, compared to the V10 units, is likely to help smooth and consistent drivers next season, although Villeneuve reckons the driving style will remain unchanged.

He expects, however, to see more overtaking thanks to the reduced top speeds.

"Because of the weight it does not change the way you drive and the car in corners, it does make coming out of the corners easier as you do not have so much horsepower to play with," the BMW driver added. "It reminds me of my IndyCar days with turbo, on the first lap I thought I could not go flat out but in fact it was flat!

"That is what happens with the V8. The noise is actually really nice, in fact nicer than last year. The cornering speed is the same as last year and during the season it will be faster because it turns out there was too much horsepower in the past so we could never have enough downforce in the past.

"So if we can keep the same amount of downforce and still be fast, we do not need to take wing off, so the cornering speed will be the same and it will be better with the new tyre rule, as they are softer, but it will be slower in the straight which means bigger tow.

"Hopefully there will be more overtaking because of that. If that turns out to be true, then it is nice."

Despite some drivers claiming the V8-powered cars would not be as challenging as V10s, Villeneuve says he is enjoying the driving more now.

"Yes, because we drive with less downforce so it will be more slippery. The cornering speed is still there," the former World Champion said.

"There is still a lot of power available. It is still fun to drive, you still brake late, you still carry the speed to the corners. If we did not have traction control last year it would be different anyway. We were limited in the corners, we were full power only on straights, which does not do anything for you, it is in the corners where we play with the throttle.

"Last year with TC we went flat anyway. Even now we are using the TC, which is limiting us. Already we have too much horsepower for the grip level, so the power does not make a difference to the driving."