Villeneuve Slams Paul Ricard Test Circuit

Is anyone listening?
By Phil Huff
April 11 2003

According to Autosport, outspoken BAR driver Jacques Villeneuve has criticised safety at the high tech Paul Ricard test track in France.

The Paul Ricard circuit was recently redesigned as a state of the art F1 test track. Instead of tyre barriers, the circuit features wide concrete run-off areas featuring special strips to slow the car, but Villeneuve is unimpressed, saying "Some of the corners are so dangerous – I wish they'd put some tyre barriers here. Those asphalt strips do stop the car, but if you miss the line you can go over and just carry on driving, which isn't like any other circuit we race at."

Villeneuve was second fastest in testing at the circuit yesterday but reckons that the smooth asphalt at the circuit limits the relevance of testing at the track, saying "We did some tyre work but it doesn't help much because the asphalt is so different from any of the circuits we race on. I really don't know why we keep coming here. We did some mileage today, but it didn't have a purpose."