Villeneuve to Make F1 Return this Season?
By Jamie Makin
September 16 2004
Silly season kicked into high gear today with all the rumours centering on Jacques Villeneuve's much anticipated return to F1. Renault have made no secret of their displeasure with Jarno Trulli's recent performances.
The Italian has failed to score a single point since being told he would not be retained for 2005. He has also lashed out at the team for giving him an inferior car and openly admitted that he has lost faith in the car and the team.
Renault lost second place in the Constructors Championship to BAR-Honda at last weekend's Italian Grand Prix. They are desperate to reclaim that second spot and seem to feel that cannot rely on Trulli to get the job done. This led team boss Flavio Briatore to pay Peter Sauber a visit in the paddock to see if there was a chance he could get an early release of Giancarlo Fisichella. Sauber lies a solid sixth place in the standings but still needs to perform well to secure the position. Peter Sauber was less than keen on letting his star driver leave under these circumstances. "I do not think that Renault would want to spend the kind of money that I would want to do that," Sauber said. "Flavio Briatore has made his bed and now he has to lie in it."
This lead Renault down a different path and they confirmed today that Villenueve will test with them on Wednesday at Silverstone. He will most likely go on to replace Trulli for the remaining three races. This will be Villeneuve's chance to prove once and for all that he is worthy of a drive for next season. Peter Sauber will be watching him with a keen interest and the rumour that Villeneuve will join the Swiss team has refused to die. The 1997 World Champion visited the Hinwil factory a month ago and despite Sauber claiming to be after a new rising star, whisperings among the paddock say that Villeneuve and Sauber have already signed a letter of intent for next season. The contract would be performance based, with Villeneuve earning a small base salary plus bonuses for each point scored.
There are also hints that another top candidate, Anthony Davidson, will remain at BAR-Honda next season. This narrows Sauber's prospects down to Villeneuve, Liuzzi, Paffett and Albers. Although Paffett and Albers, both racing in DTM this year, are longshots for the drive, Sauber will grant Liuzzi a test at Jerez this Thursday. The rumours about Villeneuve coming to Sauber remain strong, but it is hard to see Sauber turning away Liuzzi as he is backed by one of their primary sponsors, Red Bull.
Sauber maintain that they are in no hurry to make a decision on Fisichella's replacement and could in fact take until Christmas to do so. But things are developing quickly behind the scenes in the paddock, so stay tuned for more developments . . . . .