By Jamie Makin
March 1 2005

The Australian Grand Prix of 1996 marked the debut Formula One race for Jacques Villeneuve. He began his Formula One career in style, by scoring pole for his Williams team in 1996. He raced well but had to settle for second behind teammate Damon Hill. This year's race in Melbourne will mark a second debut for him, this time for team SAUBER PETRONAS, where he hopes to reignite his career. "Heading from Europe to Australia is like going on holiday because it is really so far away," said the 1997 World Champion. "I like it there because the atmosphere is really nice, it is a really special GP. I definitely like the track too, it's certainly one of my favourite and I have been pretty competitive there in the past."

Villeneuve may be eager for success is not quite sure how his new team will fare against the competition. "Right now I don't know what we can expect from this race; nobody does. But we have been working hard over the winter to get a good result there. Psychologically the first race of the season is very important - it sets the pace for the rest of the season in a way, so you really want to start off on a high note..."

Should Villeneuve be able to reach the same high note as he did in 1996, it would be quite a start to his and SAUBER's 2005 season.

Jacques Villeneuve - Results for Australian GP:

YEAR	QUAL	RACE	COMMENTS
2003	6	9	-
2002	13	DNF	Rear Wing Failure
2001	8	DNF	Accident
2000	8	4	-
1999	11	DNF	Rear Wing Failure
1998	4	5	-
1997	1	DNF	Accident
1996	1	2	-

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