As Jenson Button secured a thrilling triumph for Honda last Sunday, finally putting the team that started life as British American Racing on the top step of the podium, Jacques Villeneuve, the man who with manager Craig Pollock created and developed that team, was miles from the action, contemplating life after Formula One.
Villeneuve was absent from Budapest after, according to the official line from his BMW-Sauber team, he chose to recuperate from his crash the preceding week. But it was soon evident that he would not be returning and, after the cancellation of his contract with the German marque, his time in Formula One appears to be over.
It was not the way he wanted it to end. Always determined and committed, Villeneuve spent his time in Formula One driving at the limit and sometimes beyond it. Despite suggestions to the contrary at certain times in his career, Villeneuve would never shirk work on the track and he never backed away from a challenge.