Did Villeneuve withdraw, or was he barred?

No goodbye for fans
By Phil Huff (09/10/2003)
October 9 2003

It's been revealed that Jacques Villeneuve has decided to step down from BAR early, and sit out the Japanese Grand Prix. However, it appears this may have been his decided fate for some time.

We first heard the rumour that Villeneuve would be replaced by third driver Takuma Sato at Suzuka way back in July this year, but for various reasons couldn't cover it until September.

At that time, when asked about possible performance levels at Suzuka, Villeneuve made the comment "I really don't know how well we can do there... of course, if I'm in the car."

If this was pre-determined, the press releases and comments coming from Lucky Strike BAR Honda are works of pure fiction.

However, if Jacques really did feel he was unable to compete, that's a sad reflection on the Canadian. Driver's have been dropped from teams for decades, yet still they race. Now Villeneuve's legions of fans will miss what could be a final chance of seeing their hero race.

So, did he jump, or was he pushed?