By Phil Huff (12/06/2003)
June 12 2003

The FIA's Thursday press conference took place at Montreal today, and Lucky Strike BAR Honda driver Jacques Villeneuve was in attendance. Here's what he had to say... Q: Jacques, I think this is number two or three today, isn't it? Do you feel there's a huge amount of pressure on you this weekend?

Jacques Villeneuve: No, if we had come here after winning a few races this year then there would be pressure, but the way the season's been going, we either do the same as every other race which is the car breaks down… The only bad thing that could happen is that the car finally doesn't break down but I go off! That would be a bad one! We should be competitive, definitely. The car's been a big improvement this year. I don't know. I just hope the monkey will jump off my back, because it's been a little difficult this year.

Q: The local press seem to be giving you quite a hard time, what's your reply to that?

JV: I wasn't aware of it, so I'm not sure what you're talking about.

Q: They seem to have written you off. You're a has-been man

JV: It will make some fun reading. I'm feeling good. I didn't even read one paper, so I have no idea what you're talking about and now that you've told me what they're about I probably will not read them.

Q: This weekend is the 25th anniversary of your father's win here. What does that mean to you?

JV: Oh, I didn't know. Um. Great, it's great. I guess I'll call my mum and it will be nice. I don't know. It's not something that has much importance to me. The day I stop racing and I have children and grandchildren and great grandchildren then I will probably look at all these numbers and it will be great to have memories, but right now, while I'm racing, all that matters is that we do a good weekend.

Q: How's the restaurant business?

JV: It's good. It's not as hard work as the racing this year so it's good.

Q: In terms of the racing, is there more to come, more from Honda, more from BAR?

JV: Well, there has to be more from Honda to come because there's still a lot of work to be done. We have a different spec engine here, we tested it at Monza and it was working fine, so I'm quite happy that we can use it here. Hopefully there will be a lot more steps during the season. The car's been a huge improvement from last year, so I think the big steps will not happen during the season, it's more for next year's car.

Q: But it's really reliability you're looking for

JV: Not even that, because Jenson's car hasn't broken down. It's only stupid little mechanical problems that aren't.. because there's a weakness in the car, it's just because a wrong cable is being mounted or whatever. It can be in the engine, it can be in the steering, it's just stupid stuff like that which at the end of the day costs you the race as much as a suspension failure.

Q: Michael Schumacher and the Ferrari superteam have signed through 2006. This will tie up the driver market and we are also looking at probably many more wins and championships for Michael and Ferrari. What do you think about facing that combination for the next three years?

JV: It is not really a surprise that they stayed together. They have had a good few years. Basically I don't think he will ever go to another team, he will retire when he leaves Ferrari and why should he retire now?

Q: SARS is something that a lot of fans have been concerned about especially with what is going on in Toronto. What is your thinking about it?

JV: (Shrugs) I don't remember discussing it with anyone either before coming here so it has never been really in our minds.

Q: Jacques, inevitably every time you come home there are always questions of your past performances and comparisons to Michael Schumacher. There was a golf tournament that took place a couple of years ago between Sergio Garcia and Tiger Woods, it was called 'the battle of Bighorn' and it was a made for TV prime-time event where the two supposed best golfers in the world squared off. Would something like that, if it ever came off, interest you in terms of throwing some rabbits out on the track for you and Michael to chase and in the exact same cars battle head to head?

JV: You can't work on that because the same car will suit a driver better than another, especially if you don't have time to work on it. So if you just jump in it and you are lucky and it suits you, you will end up winning. So that type of thing is great for TV viewers and everybody thinks they know the truth but it is only perception, it is not reality.

Q: Jacques, as the only one of you guys up there using the Bridgestone tyre at the moment, could you give us an assessment of where you think they are relative to Michelin?

JV: It depends on which race you looked at during the season. Monaco was a bit of a surprise the way it turned out because on Thursday Bridgestone was definitely ahead and by the end of the weekend it was the other way round so the way the track rubbered in seemed to have added an effect. This track is so different to any other track that I think it will be a surprise for everybody. There was a test in Monza but Monza is not really what Montreal is. Montreal is just low speed corners so we will find out on Friday and it will probably be the opposite by Sunday anyway. A lot of it will be down to temperature anyhow. I think the cooler it is the better it is for us at this point.

Q: About Michael Schumacher. Do you think he will really go on until 2006 or will he retire before?

JV: You retire if nobody wants you and you can't earn a living any more or if you have had enough and you are not winning races. He is in a team where he is winning races and he makes loads of money so why should he retire?

Q: Juan, yesterday Jeff Gordon was marvelling at the traction control. How much easier did that make his job and how much easier does it make your job as well.

JV: What you have to understand is that when you drive a Formula One car if you drive lower than the limit and you just step on it then the traction control will save you, which when Jeff was driving probably made a big difference. But when you are driving on the limit you are still sliding, even with the traction control, and that is when driving becomes special.

Q: Jacques, I want to ask you about your future. Craig Pollock said yesterday that you will definitely be racing next year.

JV: Unless he does a very bad job, yes.

Q: Well, if we analyse things there are three teams that would be suitable for a man who has won a world championship. One of them is Williams, where you have been, one of them is Ferrari, where you wouldn't go because you have said you wouldn't drive with Michael Schumacher

JV: No, I didn't say I wouldn't drive with Michael Schumacher. I wouldn't drive in Rubens' position - and that is different - which means that you are not allowed to have anything, then no, that would not suit me. But you can always have a team, like McLaren do, they don't have a number two and a number one, they have two number ones and that works out fine and it is the same at Williams.

Q: Well, my question was going to be, since it looks as though there might not be a place for you in one of the top teams - you may yet surprise us there - are you prepared to go with a team that is at a slightly lower level and wait a few years longer in order to start winning races again, and would you do so for a smaller salary than you do now?

JV: I don't want to wait until I am 50 to be in a position to be competitive again. What you have to understand is that the BAR car has made a huge step forward this year. We have closed the gap with Ferrari a lot and for us that is a very important thing. When you make a decision you have to see what is available and what your options are and it is impossible for me to give you an answer until I know what the options really, really are. It is easy to say now 'oh, I only want to drive in these kind of teams' but then when the question is you drive in another team or you stay at home then maybe you change your mindset so I cannot give you an answer right now.

Q: What about the salary requirements?

JV: The teams will do everything they can to bring down your value and as a driver, your management will do everything they can to bring up your value. That's the law of the market.