By role
September 24 2004

Friday Practice for the Chinese Grand Prix was a special moment for Jacques Villeneuve. After on year of seing the races through the TV he is back behind the wheel of a competitive Formula 1 car and looking forward to do the best for his team. The Canadian took some extra time to accomodate to his new car ad was happy to finsih cloe to Fernando's times:

"The team was very professional, and they helped get the car comfortable to drive from the outset. I was trying to find the limit on a new circuit this morning, and then we began working on set-up this afternoon. My lap-time was close to Fernando’s, which is good – but it took me a while to get there! I have been training hard since March, and I did 45 laps today – which is almost a full race distance. And I feel very good." He said.

He likes quite a lot the new track at Shangai:

"It’s a gorgeous track. There are some heavy braking zones, a good rhythm, slow corners and quick corners – you don’t often get that on modern circuits. It has a very positive feeling." He added.

Villeneuve is back in the track after one year since he left BAR Honda. A year spent relaxing after so many years racing:

"I took time out to enjoy myself, to do what I wanted to – like skiing. And I relaxed. I have been racing since I was 17, which is a stressful way of living, with lots of travel. The last two seasons in particular were difficult, with a tense situation and lots of debates flying around. It was good to relax and take time to think about my life. This weekend really feels like my first GP again!" He added.