More True Rumors! Villeneuve Inks Two-Year Deal With Sauber
Written by Josh Katinger · September 15, 2004
Keeping in the theme of the recent “true lies” in F1, Sauber has confirmed speculation that Jacques Villeneuve has signed on to drive for the team in 2005. Villeneuve inked a two year deal with the team on his way to England to test for Renault in preparation for the last three races of 2004 with that team.
Signing two F1 driving contracts in one day…now that’s a comeback!
Sauber.ch: SAUBER PETRONAS signs former World Champion Jacques Villeneuve
Crash.net: Sauber confirms Villeneuve deal.
Sauber Press Release:
SAUBER PETRONAS has signed Jacques Villeneuve as a new driver from the 2005 season onwards. The 33-year-old Canadian entered into a two-year contract, which will come into effect on November 1, 2004. Jacques Villeneuve will be the team mate of Felipe Massa who will continue to drive for SAUBER PETRONAS next year.
I honestly don’t know why I’m so dumbfounded by this. He really hasn’t been out of the sport for that long, but I guess I just wrote him off. The other thing I don’t understand is - other than perhaps they were the only option - why go with Sauber? It’s highly unlikely that he’ll win a race with them. How will his experience at Sauber differ from his time at BAR? What goals will he achieve there?
If the idea is to get a foothold back in F1, re-prove himself with Sauber, and hope to get back into a team that can win, why sign for two years? Maybe he can escape to a top three team after only 1 year at Sauber, if he does well. Maybe he really is committed to just racing, even if not for the win. Either way, it’s good to have this character back in the mix.
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4 Responses to “More True Rumors! Villeneuve Inks Two-Year Deal With Sauber”
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Apparently European contract law is about as air tight as the Titanic! Any premise like “I don’t want to work for you any more” is sufficcient to void a deal. Just ask Jenson! Jacques will never spend two years at Sauber if a better opportunity presents itself in 2006. His contract may, as you point out, give him that option.
I agree that Villeneuve will be in a better car if it’s available, but I have to believe that with all the Button mess and deals like Webber’s which allow him to move to a top team (if Jaguar doesn’t do well enough in Webber’s case), Villeneuve has got to have something in his contract that allows him to leave if he wants to.
I’m still curious to know what happened with BAR. Did he get an actual “NO” or did he not want to risk missing out on at least a Sauber drive. Reports yesterday stated that the CRB review of the Button contracts won’t even start until the end of October (a one month delay). It likely will be November before BAR knows whether they need a driver. I previously said I didn’t think any current drivers would want to wait that long for a 2005 deal and that JV would be the only one left standing (current test drivers excluded). It turns out that maybe Villeneuve didn’t want to wait either.
I agree. There’s no way JV signs for 2 years without and “out” clause. If I were in his shoes, I would make sure I had the right to sign with any factory-sponsored team should the opportunity arise.
I am willing to bet that he and Renault have worked out a deal where if he performs well (reclinches 2nd in constructor’s) he will go straight to Renault and not race for Sauber at all. The two teams have had good relationships as has been seen with Fisichella and I would not be suprised if this were to be the case