Villeneuve was sure to stay at BMW

The Canadian's deal with the team was only confirmed today, but speaking immediately after the announcement Villeneuve has said that he was never worried that he would not be retained.

"Of course, I am very happy, but it is what I have been expecting all along because there was a contract in place," he said. "I am still very motivated, which is why I signed the two-year deal with Sauber last year.

"I have had a great year in terms of my work with the engineers on the development of the car, and our hard work has been evident in that there was steady progress made.

"I came back to Formula One to be successful, unfortunately the Sauber was not as competitive this year as we all had thought it could be.

"I expect that with the increased budget that BMW can offer, we can improve steadily, because Sauber is a very efficient team already. I'm really looking forward to working with the team in 2006, and really feel it is going to be a fantastic year."

The doubts about Villeneuve's future surfaced because of a relatively disappointing campaign - something that the man himself is not shying away from. But he believes he did a good job under the circumstances.

"In terms of performances, 2005 was quite hard," he admitted. "The car was difficult to drive in the beginning, and we had done an insufficient amount of testing before the season started.

"On this particular point, I am extremely happy with the job we've done this year. Looking at lap times we were able to improve the car by over half a second per lap during the course of the season. Of course, things like this are not very visible as we were fighting for positions and not for podiums but it is quite satisfying to have achieved such a strong job."

And it is the form of last season that leaves Villeneuve cautious about making too many predictions about BMW's form next year.

"It's important to be realistic and to consider from where we start. Sauber finished in eighth place in the Constructors' Championship 2005, so there's a long way to go. I am sure we can do considerably better, but it will take time. The important thing is to see an upwards trend."