Villeneuve Welcomes Tough Medicine at BAR

British American Racing have lost their comfort zone - and Jacques Villeneuve is delighted.

Change has swept through BAR and the Canadian, a youthful and eye-opening Formula One World Champion in 1997 with Williams, says it is for the best even if the current season looks like another write-off.

New team boss David Richards announced a swathe of job cuts last week, including the departure of chief designer Malcolm Oastler, in a shake-up that cut through the cosy calm of an under-achieving team.

"I think it's given a kick in the balls of everybody," Villeneuve said at the Brazilian Grand Prix with a cheerful grin. "Everybody in the team was very comfortable before, they were protected. Now everyone knows that if the job is not done, then there's a door that might open - and it's not the door to come in, it's the door to go out.

"I think that's not a bad thing. If we'd been winning then the comfort would have been a good thing I guess but we weren't winning and the comfort was there. If you're at the back of the pack and still feeling comfortable and happy, that means something is wrong.

"We all want to have fun in F1 but it's our lives, our careers and everything that is on the line," added Villeneuve, whose team finished sixth overall last year. "It's obvious that the team wasn't working."

Empty Years

Accusations could easily have been levelled at Villeneuve, a man who needs a supportive environment and who might be considered to have wasted the best years of his career when he joined BAR in 1999. Since then he has had just two third-place finishes to show for four years of hard grind.

He may have shed some of his status but he said he had lost none of his motivation. His sense of humour also remained intact.

"When I came to this team I knew there were chances that the team wasn't going to perform well," he said. "Now there have been a lot of changes in the team and we'll see within a few months how these changes affect the team and I'm quite positive about it.

"I've always driven as hard as I can. The thing is you don't see it on TV because I'm always at the back. You only see it when I get a lap down."

Villeneuve's future with the team had been in some doubt since Richards' arrival in December as a replacement for the Canadian's friend and mentor Craig Pollock. He cut an uneasy figure at the team launch and was unhappy with the Honda-engined car's weak performance in the first two races.

But he made clear that he was committed to the cause, although it would take time for the drivers to see any improvements filter down to them.

"I am very happy with the relationship with David Richards, it is actually very good so no problems with that," said the son of late Ferrari great Gilles. "We need to get the ball rolling, to get everything working well together here and that hasn't happened yet. We have to wait and see.

"We can salvage the season maybe but we won't be better this season. The chassis is good, we just need the engine and the aero(dynamics) to improve."

Villeneuve has a contract for at least another year, probably two, with BAR and he suggested that he wanted to stay with the team.

"Of course there are ways to break legally a contract but that's never a very positive thing," he said. "Because I've been here since the beginning I would still like to have success with this team.

"Now it looks like the changes could allow us to do that. And after four years of no results, there's not so many places I could go to anyway."