By Jamie Makin
December 19 2004

Jacques Villeneuve has already completed his brief 2004 testing duties for SAUBER PETRONAS and is now taking a winter break to prepare himself physically and mentally for next season. His three days of testing for the Swiss team may not sound like much but his quick pace and adaptation to the car have him looking forward to 2005. "The results from the tests were really encouraging and the car feels good," Jacques said. "It will be interesting to try the new car early next year. I'm already really optimistic." The new SAUBER PETRONAS C24 will be unveiled in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 11 January and will hit the test track in Valencia later that week.

It is clear that Jacques has returned to Formula One with renewed spirits and has put his struggles at BAR Honda behind him. "Sometimes at BAR I had to say to myself 'ok, be professional, do your job'," he explained to Motorsport News magazine. "Now I'm waking up and immediately I just want to be involved."

One of Jacques obvious shortcomings during his three-race stint with Renault at the end of 2004 was his lack of fitness. Despite staying in shape during his layoff he found himself caught off guard when he stepped into the car. He is working hard on his fitness over the winter by skiing and playing ice hockey. "I'm excited about getting back to skiing, once the snow arrives. Our ice-hockey team has already played a few times, including a match against the Sauber team, and I think we've improved in general since last year," Jacques said. "Anyone who plays will know that it's also great for general fitness and cardio." His return to testing for SAUBER next month will help him even more as there really is no substitute for actually driving a Formula One car.

Faced with competing in a full season which will feature a record 19 races, Jacques claims he is not feeling the pressure of having to prove himself. "I'm doing this because I want to, not because I have to prove something," he explained. "I do have pride, all humans do -- and that makes me want to prove something. But it's not the reason."

It is only a short wait now until we find out what the refreshed Jacques Villeneuve can do with the new SAUBER C24.

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