Formula 1
Villeneuve bemused by team decisions
Jacques Villeneuve appears to be none the wiser than the rest of us when it comes to whom is partnering newly signed Jenson Button at BAR next year. Speaking to BBC radio yesterday he said Button was inexperienced but could shed no light on what ...
Published: Jul 27, 2002, 1:33 PM
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Jacques Villeneuve appears to be none the wiser than the rest of us when it comes to whom is partnering newly signed Jenson Button at BAR next year. Speaking to BBC radio yesterday he said Button was inexperienced but could shed no light on what plans BAR might have.
"He (Button) doesn't have experience yet I guess, but he seems to have overshadowed Trulli," Villeneuve remarked, adding that as far as he was concerned, he had a contract but was unsure of the situation in the team: "I'm as much in the cloud as you on that. Right now it's two cars per team, perhaps it will be three cars. I have a contract; unless someone arrived with a platter of gold I don't see why I should discuss it."
Villenueve also said he couldn't understand the decisions that were made by some teams regarding driver line up: "Being fast is very secondary. I've been pulling my hair out a few times when I've seen what's happened at the Renault team for the last two years. The better driver of the season always gets the sack. I find that very impressive. I really don't understand why or how you can come to a decision like that. McLaren made a similar decision and, five laps from the end, their decision lost them the race."
Last year Benetton (now Renault) let go of Giancarlo Fisichella in favour of Jarno Trulii, despite Fisichella outperforming Button. This season Button has done better than Trulli so far but has been ousted in favour of test driver Fernando Alonso for next year. Villenueve may have a contract with BAR but if he does, why has David Richards not announced him as Button's partner?
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