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Jacques Villeneuve doesn’t seem to be a bit pleased about leaving BMW early so he can spend more time with his new wife and prepare for the birth of their child. Since his “retirement” from F1 following the German GP he has launched a variety of tirades, against his former employer and Michael Schumacher. He stated that BMW’s decision to release him was an indication that they weren’t ready to win, because if they were, they’d need him! He must have a good memory, since his last win was nine years ago. The fact that Kimi Raikkonen took his first win in his 36th GP in probably the first season where he had a car capable of it rather undermines JV’s argument, let alone the fact that he himself nearly won his first GP. This sort of nonsense, together with laments in the media made me take a look at his career. His early career was not impressive though he did finish runner-up in the 1992 Japanese F3 Championship, but it was his 1995 Indycar title which catapulted him into F1. He came into the Williams team in 1996 replacing David Coulthard who went to McLaren. Younger readers may find it hard to believe but the team were top dog at the time, winning every Constructors’ championship between 1992 and 1997, barring 1995 - it was like joining Ferrari in the early 2000s. He made a brilliant start qualifying on pole in his first GP and would have won had not the team instructed him to let Damon Hill past as Villeneuve’s engine was blowing out oil. Hill went on to win the title in 1996 and then left the team after the driver management skills which had seen them lose their previous two world champions were exercised yet again. This left JV in the top team with a new team mate Heinz-Harald Frentzen and he won the title by just three points “on the road” in a year where there were five other winners, so hardly a dominant performance in a car that was the class of the field. Technically he won the title by 39 points from his team mate after the second place man was disqualified from the Championship. That man was Michael Schumacher in his second year with Ferrari. Schuey fought Villeneuve hard for the title despite an inferior car and whoever finished ahead in the final race would be champion. Schuey was adjudged to have deliberately driven into Villeneuve and was disqualified from the Championship. Villeneuve stayed with Williams for another year and then left to join BAR in 1999, the team set up by his manager Craig Pollock with British American Tobacco fag money. The cars were built by Reynard and powered by the Supertec (née Renault) engine. The team failed to score even a single point, which was made even more embarrassing, were that possible, by Pollock having proclaimed loudly that the team would be winners from the start and an "in your face" pre-season advertising campaign. Villeneuve’s BAR career yielded just two podium finishes, though to be fair he did score more points than any of his team mates until his final year, 2003 where he was beaten by his new team mate, Jenson Button. Button was signed by Prodrive boss Dave Richards who had been brought in by BAT to do something about the team’s dismal record. One of the many positive things he did was not to renew Villeneuve’s contract for 2004. Villeneuve’s move to BAR has been portrayed as a labour of love in pursuit of some idealistic dream and his removal from the team an act of cruelty. This is arrant nonsense, he was paid a huge amount of money to drive for them and Richards pointed out that the money would be better spent on other stuff – like making the car competitive. He offered Villeneuve the chance to stay on – if he did the year for free. If his driving for BAR had genuinely been a labour of love surely he would have done this, he was hardly in need of the money. Mechanics who worked there told me how much he was disliked, being arrogant and sulky, they much preferred Olivier Panis who was a real team player and gave 100% all the time. He chose to leave and the year following his departure was BAR’s best when they finished second in the Constructor’s Championship. Villeneuve did three races for Renault at the end of 2004 and achieved nothing, yet amazingly he was given a lifeline for 2005 by Peter Sauber. In 2005 he was beaten by team mate Felipe Massa and the team was bought by BMW. It seems that the only reason he was retained in 2006 was because he had a water-tight contract and they’d have had to pay him whether he drove or not. He performed better this year but team mate Heidfeld was ahead on points at Villeneuve’s final GP in Germany. BMW can scarcely have been impressed with the fact that he caused both of their cars to retire in their home race by colliding with his team-mate! The bang not only caused a headache for BMW but also for Villeneuve. The team say he told them he would not be fit to drive in Hungary, Pollock says that is not so, they wanted to give protégé Robert Kubica a run. It must have really hurt that Kubica made a great debut finishing seventh before being disqualified, and that the team formerly known as BAR finally scored their first win must have rubbed more salt into the wound. Villeneuve subsequently took his bat home after being told that he could not be offered any guarantees for the future. Pollock later bemoaned the fact that F1 is going for young rookie drivers – the low-cost option. As I’ve pointed out before, this is hardly surprising. There are only three top drivers and the teams are desperate to find the next one. Villeneuve also launched a tirade against Michael Schumacher, stating he is a liar and a dirty driver who will soon be forgotten when he retires. Michael is no saint, but the fact is that he is the most successful racing driver in the history of the sport and has managed his career supremely, unlike Villeneuve, and therein lies the true reason for Villeneuve’s bile. It also can’t have helped that it is with Ferrari that Michael has achieved so much, the team so many of whose fans still revere Villeneuve’s late father so. JV's career has hardly been free from controversy as his last race shows
and that was one of many. He should just go away, shut up and be grateful
for his luck. He landed in the best team of the time, won his title, is
very rich and in good health, let alone his family situation. It’s
no-one’s fault other than his own that that he chose to squander
his career. F1 is now better off without him. Click here to return to the Ferrari Happenings page.
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