Villeneuve Reflects on his 6th Place at Imola

By Jamie Makin
April 28 2005

Jacques Villeneuve turned his season around by scoring sixth place in the San Marino Grand Prix last weekend. Several days later, Villeneuve is still thrilled with the result.

"I feel great because we took every opportunity there and maximised it," he said. "The team had a fine strategy and did a good job with the pit stops. In addition, the characteristics of the car were such that I could really push it to the limit for the first time.

The media may have been skeptical of Villeneuve up to this point but he continue to believe in himself through the adversity. "I never had any doubts, but I believe that this result will make everybody more positive and life easier in general."

Villeneuve may have lost valuable seat-time when he was dismissed early from a test in Barcelona but the underlying problems were quickly dealt with by the team. Even the engineers were surprised how much better the C24 performed with the resulting upgrades.

"There were several reasons for (the improvement)," explained Villeneuve. "One of them was for sure the new aero package which was really a big step in terms of performance but also stability. Furthermore, we worked on the mechanical set-up of the car with more freedom than in previous races, which enabled me to adjust it to my liking. And, in addition, we used a modified traction control programme that was developed by the SAUBER PETRONAS engineers based on my input in order to better suit my driving style. All these factors together resulted in a significant step forward."

The next race will be at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain. It is a favourite testing spot for all of the teams and competition there is fierce. The SAUBER team have found themselves consistently off the pace there in testing so far this year, so does Villeneuve have any chance for a good result there?

"I don't know," admitted the Canadian. "Barcelona is a very different track from Imola, and we had a difficult test there. On top of that, we didn't have the new aero package then, which really makes a big difference. A lot will depend on how quickly we will be able find the right set-up. However, in any case, we improved the car significantly in Imola and this should also help us in Barcelona."

Formula One teams never rest and Villeneuve and SAUBER will continue refining the C24 as the season progresses. "Absolutely, there is potential for more to come!" Villeneuve said. "This was only the first step with the traction control. I am sure that we can further optimise it. We will do more testing this week in Fiorano, and one part of the programme is to work on the traction control."

Tomorrow Villeneuve will take the wheel at Fiorano for the team's final test before the Spanish Grand Prix.