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Jacques Villeneuve has won the battle of wills with BMW boss Mario Theissen, and has retained his seat for the 2006 season with the rebadged Sauber team.
It’s no coincidence that the announcement came on December 1 – the day that the FIA releases the definitive entry list for next season. Leaving a blank space alongside the name of Nick Heidfeld could have been extremely embarrassing for BMW, so the situation had to be sorted on time.
The Canadian signed a two-year deal with Peter Sauber in September 2004, but his future with the team was thrown into doubt as soon as BMW’s takeover was confirmed in June. Theissen resolutely refused to confirm that Villeneuve’s deal would be respected, and even when Nick Heidfeld was announced in September the team – to be known as BMW Sauber F1 – completely ignored the question of the second driver.
Any attempts by Theissen to persuade Jacques to step down gracefully, or take a compensation package, failed to reach their target. Had Jacques not raced for BMW next year his F1 career would have been over, and that’s something he could not put a price on. He is thought to be on a salary of $2.5m – far less than he received in his BAR days – but money was not the question for either the driver or manager Craig Pollock. The Pollock/Villeneuve business is, like Sauber, based in Switzerland, and that may well have had an impact on any legal repercussions.
Villeneuve got off to a shaky start at Sauber last season, but showed better form towards the end of the season. It should be borne in mind that he was up against Felipe Massa, who had extensive experience of Sauber. The Brazilian is also considered by Ferrari to be good enough to take on Michael Schumacher next season.
Villeneuve’s reputation also took a hammering in his three appearances with Renault at the end of 2004 – alongside Fernando Alonso.
"We took a close look at Jacques' performance level at the end of last season,” said Theissen. “After an extremely tough first half of the year - which showed that even a former World Champion cannot come back after a period away and be competitive from day one - he got closer and closer to his teammate over the second half of the season. We are in no doubt that Jacques will make the BMW Sauber F1 Team stronger."
"Between 1999 and 2004 I experienced first-hand the difficulties and complexities involved in setting up a new team," was Villeneuve’s PR comment. "But I've never been afraid of a challenge. Sauber was already a good team and now we also have the resources of BMW behind us. I will do everything I can to contribute to the success of the BMW Sauber F1 Team."
Villeneuve missed this week’s test in Barcelona, and will have his first run in the interim V8 car in Jerez on December 8.
It’s no coincidence that the announcement came on December 1 – the day that the FIA releases the definitive entry list for next season. Leaving a blank space alongside the name of Nick Heidfeld could have been extremely embarrassing for BMW, so the situation had to be sorted on time.
The Canadian signed a two-year deal with Peter Sauber in September 2004, but his future with the team was thrown into doubt as soon as BMW’s takeover was confirmed in June. Theissen resolutely refused to confirm that Villeneuve’s deal would be respected, and even when Nick Heidfeld was announced in September the team – to be known as BMW Sauber F1 – completely ignored the question of the second driver.
Any attempts by Theissen to persuade Jacques to step down gracefully, or take a compensation package, failed to reach their target. Had Jacques not raced for BMW next year his F1 career would have been over, and that’s something he could not put a price on. He is thought to be on a salary of $2.5m – far less than he received in his BAR days – but money was not the question for either the driver or manager Craig Pollock. The Pollock/Villeneuve business is, like Sauber, based in Switzerland, and that may well have had an impact on any legal repercussions.
Villeneuve got off to a shaky start at Sauber last season, but showed better form towards the end of the season. It should be borne in mind that he was up against Felipe Massa, who had extensive experience of Sauber. The Brazilian is also considered by Ferrari to be good enough to take on Michael Schumacher next season.
Villeneuve’s reputation also took a hammering in his three appearances with Renault at the end of 2004 – alongside Fernando Alonso.
"We took a close look at Jacques' performance level at the end of last season,” said Theissen. “After an extremely tough first half of the year - which showed that even a former World Champion cannot come back after a period away and be competitive from day one - he got closer and closer to his teammate over the second half of the season. We are in no doubt that Jacques will make the BMW Sauber F1 Team stronger."
"Between 1999 and 2004 I experienced first-hand the difficulties and complexities involved in setting up a new team," was Villeneuve’s PR comment. "But I've never been afraid of a challenge. Sauber was already a good team and now we also have the resources of BMW behind us. I will do everything I can to contribute to the success of the BMW Sauber F1 Team."
Villeneuve missed this week’s test in Barcelona, and will have his first run in the interim V8 car in Jerez on December 8.
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