Formula 1

Villeneuve explains change of test schedule

Jacques Villenuve was scheduled to spend two days testing with Sauber at Barcelona this week but there was a change of plan when his teammate Felipe Massa took over on the second day. In an effort to head off further speculation about his supposedly ...

Published: Apr 8, 2005, 5:55 PM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Jacques Villenuve was scheduled to spend two days testing with Sauber at Barcelona this week but there was a change of plan when his teammate Felipe Massa took over on the second day. In an effort to head off further speculation about his supposedly uncertain position in the team, Villenueve made a statement on his official website to explain why the change was made.

Jacques Villeneuve.

Photo by xpb.cc.

"The Team had initially planned a three-day test this week, with myself driving for the first two days (Wednesday and Thursday), and my team-mate Felipe Massa due to test for one day on Friday. We found out that it has been predicted there will be bad weather and a lot of rain on Friday, so the team has changed the running schedule so that I drove yesterday and Felipe today."

"In this way, we both get time in decent weather in the car. We can then see what happens with the weather on Friday and if it is possible to get any useful testing completed."

"I was due to complete over 120 laps yesterday but I suffered a brake failure, which cut short my running. It was a very unusual problem for an F1 car with the brakes; the pedal went totally loose down to the floor. This is really dangerous and I guess I was lucky.

"Our original test plan was to gather some in-depth data from a plan we worked out with the Team. Once we had this information, we were going to concentrate on getting quicker lap times. It's a shame I can't do this because not only would we have been quicker on the tyres and fuel alone, but the different track conditions today are making lap times a second quicker."

"So, as we have not been able to do the amount of testing we needed to in order to gather the information we wanted since Australia, we are now going to Imola with a lack of car set-up information again."

"Therefore, Felipe's times in relation to mine will, I'm sure, cause people to speculate once again about my performance but I reconfirm my commitment to Sauber and you will also find that both Peter Sauber and Willy Rampf are supporting me."

"These rumours, which are getting out of control, are just unsettling for the team. At this time we are trying our hardest to get back on the pace and improve our performances, which haven't been what we had hoped in the first three races of the season."

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article McLaren Barcelona test notes 2005-04-07

Next article Barrichello upbeat after testing

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

Jesse Love barely holds off Sam Mayer for NASCAR O'Reilly win at Phoenix

NASCAR O'Reilly

NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly

Phoenix II

3 h

Jesse Love barely holds off Sam Mayer for NASCAR O'Reilly win at Phoenix

Lando Norris faces anxious wait as F2 prepares to decide future of his racing team

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

Singapore GP

6 h

Lando Norris faces anxious wait as F2 prepares to decide future of his racing team

NASCAR Cup Phoenix starting lineup: Blaney earns pole as Larson struggles

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Phoenix II

6 h

NASCAR Cup Phoenix starting lineup: Blaney earns pole as Larson struggles

Ryan Blaney kind of faces a must-win scenario this weekend at Phoenix

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Phoenix II

7 h

Ryan Blaney kind of faces a must-win scenario this weekend at Phoenix

Feature

Discover prime content

Lights, Camara, action: How Haas picked F1's latest rookie for 2027

Formula 1

Singapore GP

By Jake Boxall-Legge

Lights, Camara, action: How Haas picked F1's latest rookie for 2027

Employing team orders can simply be a matter of common sense

Formula 1

By Kevin Turner

Employing team orders can simply be a matter of common sense

Why Christian Horner sees history repeating itself for Adrian Newey at Aston Martin

Formula 1

Singapore GP

By Ronald Vording

Why Christian Horner sees history repeating itself for Adrian Newey at Aston Martin

Laurent Mekies under the microscope: How different is his leadership at Red Bull from Christian Horner?

Formula 1

Singapore GP

By Ronald Vording

Laurent Mekies under the microscope: How different is his leadership at Red Bull from Christian Horner?

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts