By FIA
July 29 2005

SAUBER's Jacques Villeneuve answers the media's questions at the FIA's Thursday press conference leading into this weekend's Hungarian GP.

Jacques, you have had a couple of wins here, what do you think of the circuit?

Jacques Villeneuve: It has always been a fun track to drive. A few corners have been changed since then, I think, but it doesn't change the track that much. There is good rhythm, it's physical, the race can be fun because it is easy to make mistakes and you can maybe put some pressure on someone and of course any track you win on you end up really enjoying.

So do you still enjoy it?

JV: The memories are quite a few years ago so I think I need a refresher soon.

Things are changing a lot with your team, what are your chances for next year, do you feel?

JV: Well, as in I have a contract my chances are very good.

Jenson Button: I don't think he meant that!

JV: Why should it change? The team was sold with all the contracts in place.

So, you are very confident of staying with them?

JV: Yeah, I am not even questioning it.

What about the last race in Germany? It was pretty lively. Can you give us an idea of who you did contact and perhaps who you didn't?!

JV: Well, people were complaining about the lack of excitement in the races, so I just wanted to make sure there would be no complaints about that this weekend! Since the beginning of the season, in the drivers' briefings, it has always been mentioned that you don't change line in the braking area and anyway in the rules you are not supposed to impede someone's progress, which means you don't put someone on the grass. The same thing happened to the two drivers. For Doornbos it was his first race, he was excited and fine, everyone can make mistakes. He kept the inside and I went for the outside then he just came back on the line as we hit the brakes. We had a little talk about it and everything was fine. With Tiago, he spent the whole back straight and through the hairpin looking in his right-hand mirror, going to the right, going to the right, so at one point that's him telling me don't try to overtake me on the right, go for the left, which is what I did, and when we reached the braking area he came back on the line again, his excuse being 'I looked in my right mirror and I didn't see you there so I went left.' I hope he doesn't do that on highways because he is going to have a few big ones.

Questions From The Floor:

(Hungarian) Giancarlo and Jacques, this is the 20th Hungarian Grand Prix and you are the oldest who started racing amongst this group. What are the differences in the attitude of the race from your point of view?

JV: The first few years - now I have a motorhome so I sleep at the race track - but in the first few years I didn't, I stayed in a hotel and it is a fun town, not that you see it much in a race weekend because you go to bed early, you wake up early but it always has quite a lot of character so that was always a nice place to come to race. I have no idea how it has changed because for the last few years I have been at the race track anyway, so I have no idea.

(Adrian Rodriguez Huber) Jacques, you were his teammate for three races and Giancarlo, you are his teammate now: do you guys think Fernando already has the championship in his pocket and what are your feelings for the guy and as a driver?

JV: He has a big advantage and that's always the best position to be in. Any points you score early in the season always makes it harder for the other ones to catch you, even if they're faster in the second half. It's obvious that McLaren and Kimi are faster now but they are behind on points and if they make a small mistake or a car breaking down kills their chances. Fernando is very strong in the races. This year he has only made one mistake which is less than most drivers do in a season, so he is definitely driving very maturely as well.

To all the drivers. Obviously there is much talk about abandoning the one lap qualifying format. Do you think this is the way to go and as you may know, people can vote for two different qualifying formats on Formula1.com. Which do you prefer of the two?

JV: Neither actually. I like the one lap qualifying, I don't like it with fuel, and I think we should have two goes at it so then you can really push hard. But one lap means you don't have traffic… Everybody thinks qualifying used to be fantastic but how many times did you come back to the pits saying 'ah, there was a yellow flag' or ' there was traffic' and it just created… and then for half an hour there were no cars on the track. It wasn't that good. But now what is confusing is you qualify with fuel so you ask 'is it a good lap?', 'is it the strategy?', and you can't really push to the limit because a mistake means you'll start last. So if you just had two goes at one lap without fuel it would be perfect.

(Jens Klutich - ARD Radio, Germany) Tomorrow is Fernando's birthday. Are there any wishes from the podium?

JV: Well, it's his birthday tomorrow and tomorrow is not important so that makes it very easy. If it was on Sunday then you would have to say well, I wish him a podium, but it's tomorrow so it's not the race, so let's hope he doesn't sweat too much on his birthday day.