Villeneuve seeks redemption
Jacques Villeneuve is determined to go out on a high in next weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix after two disappointing results at the Chinese and Japanese Grands Prix
Villeneuve was drafted in to replace Jarno Trulli at Renault for the final three races of the season, but his 11th place in Shanghai followed by 10th at Suzuka left many wondering what Renault had been thinking.
Having carried out extra testing at Jerez this week the French-Canadian is confident of getting the team in the points in the final race of the season at Interlagos.
"Suzuka was a tough race for me so the team altered the testing schedule to allow me to run at last week's test in Jerez," he said. "The aim for that session was to get to know the car better and explore different set-ups but to also to get some more time to help with my physical conditioning. We didn't do as many miles as we would have liked, but it was important to get more experience with the R24. Hopefully, it will enable me to run more competitively in my last race for the team in Brazil."
"I want to end my time at Renault with a good performance after two hard races and bring something back to the team. I definitely want to finish in the points."
Renault has been unwilling to concede second place in the constructors' championship, despite needing 16 points in Brazil, with BAR scoring none, to take the runners-up prize. Fernando Alonso admits that the last few races have been a disappointment for the team, but the Spaniard is determined to finish the season how he started it, with a podium.
"It has been a long season but the whole team is very motivated to do well in Brazil and show everybody what we are capable of," he said. "The results have not been so good in recent races but I feel that I have been driving to the maximum and if the performance of the car is where we hope, then we can be very competitive.
"In Japan, we didn't do well enough in qualifying to fight at the front in the race, but I will be going for the podium in Brazil. That was how we started the year in Australia and it would be great to do it again at Interlagos."
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