Richards has no faith in Villeneuve

By role
September 28 2004

Jacques Villeneuve is fighting hard to regain his prestige as competitive racing driver. He is, bar Michael Schumacher, the only Formula 1 World Champion to be on the grid. However, his old boss David Richards believe jacques Villeneuve is past his best and that he will not be a threat.

Talking to the Times Richards was quite blunt on his comments:

“When you have been a world champion, people expect you to come back at the same level, but it is difficult to be competitive when you have had a year out of a Formula 1 car." He said. “I cannot see Jacques threatening anybody next season.”

Richards believes Jacques Villeneuve may be too old to pose a challenge:

“I know racing drivers have successfully had comebacks in the past, but these days we need younger drivers." He added. “Youth is the great new thing in Formula 1 and we plan to continue investing in young drivers.”

David Richards team, BAR Honda, is fighting Renault for the second place at the Constructors Championship this year and has a 9 point lead that the British believe will be enough to get the place.

"We can't afford to relax," he said after the Chinese Grand Prix. "We need to work hard to protect the lead we have and make sure we finish the job."

David Richards has his full trust on his drivers to keep them ahead of Renault F1:

"I believe I've got the two best drivers and that we will do it," he added. "We've worked very hard for this."