Villeneuve to take a sabbatical!?!

[Marcel ten Caat]

Taken from planet-f1

Jacques would skip the 2003 season and then continue with the team for another two years from 2004 onwards on his orginial terms. This would mean that BAR could save money in the short-term and be able to invest it in the car. Then when the car has improved, Villeneuve would return to partner Jenson Button.

Let's not hope this is true and if it IS true, let's not hope he will do it the Hakkinen way

[Peter Mallett]

Maybe this is what Richards was talking about.

[paul-collins]

Not mentioned on F1-live. hrm.

Not mentioned on ITV F1. So it must be true!

[DavidStHubbins]

what i think Richards is implying is that if jacques is not happy next year after x amount of races that he can go and panis takes his place. Richards is implying that Jacques is obligated to the team contract-wise but maybe lacks commitment so Richards is maybe hinting to jacques that if he wants to go, Go! And Panis will wait in the wings. Maybe Jacques will decide to leave during the winter.

[Jordi]

We'll See.... I just want Jacques in a competitive car, not a crappy one

[Bononi]

I doubt this to happen, anyway if he goes, definetely he won't come back...

[neilap]

I still say he should be in a Williams alongside JPM. It would be sick watching the two drivers carve up the rest of the competition.
If he leaves for a year then why would he even come back to BAR? Also why would BAR take him back? He would be expensive and if the team gets better then it would be really unfair to whoever gets dropped. This is one rumor that I hope is not true. Unless OP wants to retire in one year then it might make some sense.

[Jay]

I doubt this to be true. I personally don't think Planet-F1 is a very reliable internet news source. Wait and see if anything comes from F1-live.

[freud]

I think if Renault doesnt hire him for 2003, it would be a good decision for JV to take a sabbatical or go back to drive for a frontline CART team. Its meaningless to drive a lower middle level car for yet another season.

[BootsOntheSide]

"if Renault doesnt hire him for 2003"

HELLO? Where have you been? Do the names 'Trulli' & @Alonso' mean anything to you?

[freud]

Originally posted by BootsOntheSide
"if Renault doesnt hire him for 2003"

HELLO? Where have you been? Do the names 'Trulli' & @Alonso' mean anything to you?

See, Renault still havent announced officially uptil now. There might be some negotiations going on, who knows? Until the teams dont announce their driver line-ups one cant really say.

[Total-F1]

I've heard this a long time ago - Jacques saying he would maybe like to take a year out to recuperate and try his hand at a few other things motorsport-wise, like the drivers in the good old days...

It now also explains Richard's cryptic revelation...

[Evilsenna]

Even if I am a BIG fan of Villeneuve
If he goes out of F1 for a year, I hope his
contract permits him of racing in other series.

It would be great to see him at Lemans 24h
or at the Indy 500

[Valve Bounce]

Let me know when something concrete sets in.

Valve

[Lee Janotta]

I'm really split on this... Conventional wisdom would say that if Jacques takes a year off, he won't be back, being that he's already pretty unpopular in the paddock.

But this is Jacques, and what he's missing is motivation, not skill. And maybe a season on contesting the big prize races is just what he needs. Consider him with Panoz or a private Audi at Sebring, LeMans and Petit LeMans (maybe his home race at Trois Rivieres). At the Monte Carlo and Safari rallies in a works Subaru. At the Indy 500 with any number of teams. The Nurburgring 24 hours in an Acura NSX. The Macau GP. Heck, maybe even the Daytona 500?

Maybe he'd come back with a restored reputation, and what's more, a restored sense of why he races.

[Kretzman JB fan]

I'm guessing this is why Richardswas so happy and saying that everyone will be happy in the end.

I don't know, but I'll believe it when its in concrete. It would free up some money for BAR development team thoug, quite a bit of money.

[paul-collins]

Originally posted by freud
See, Renault still havent announced officially uptil now. There might be some negotiations going on, who knows? Until the teams dont announce their driver line-ups one cant really say.

Well, JV is busy burning bridges right now:

...the 1997 world champion says he was speechless that Renault axed Button rather than team-mate Jarno Trulli. And he also questioned Flavio Briatore’s decision to part with Giancarlo Fisichella rather than Jenson the season before...

Villeneuve believes that McLaren had made a similar error when they signed up Kimi Raikkonen at the start of the year. He reckons that the young Finn’s inexperience cost them victory in France last weekend.

-itv.com/f1

[paul-collins]

A further quote from the same interview, different website:

Jacques denied there had been any direct talks with BAR boss David Richards about him taking a sabbatical next year, but he did give the impression that he was open to offers.

"I’ve got a contract for next year and the only reason there can’t be a contract for next year is if you discuss it. And the only reason you would discuss something is if you gain something else out of it."

"Unless someone arrives with a platter of gold with something beautiful written on it, then I don’t really see why I should discuss it."

-planet-f1.com

[Bononi]

That's what I expected from him.

I think Richards is playing games to say "Hey Jacques go home...

[f1manoz]

I don't think a year off would do JV any good. His past performances have not been awe inspiring, and he's at that age now where if he loses a seat, he has a good chance of not being able to find another one.

There are no other competitive seats for JV to find, and no-one else appears that interested in the French-Canadian at present. Even Renault have lost interest in him.

Smart man would stay at BAR otherwise he would be out of a drive.

[steve_r]

IMO: What a shame to see such a talented driver's career go downhill so much. Unless he somehow gets a decent drive and another realistic crack at the title very soon, this must go down as a massive waste of a huge talent.

[Inigo Montoya]

Good riddance I say. He dug his own grave when he went for the $$ instead of the good drive. Now he can concentrate on his #1 priority - chasing girls.

It is really a shame though. I can't help thinking it would be fun to see him, TGF, JPM, and KR battling wheel to wheel in good machinery.

[rlinter]

There are a couple of points no-one has commented on that put some weight behind this sabatical thing.

The largest of which is Sato who is tied to honda power. As BAR are going to be the only honda powered team in '03 then that is where Sato will go - He will not be alowed to drive anything else.

The other thing is that JV has so much cash that he doesn't need to race and with Pollock and David Hunt joining forces to buy up Arrows and rename it Lotus then that would be a good place for JV to end his F1 career.

On the subject of JV's cash supply some one within prodrive told me the following.

If you took JV's BAR salary and converted it into £20 notes, and the set 2 people working 35hrs a week each burning one note after the other for 52 weeks they would still be more than 50% of his salary left!

[Rennen]

I'll buy that rlinter...wouldn't Pollock would want JV in from day one?

Although both he and JV would be quids in (again) if he just saw out his final year contract at BAR, I don't see him going for DRs long term deal, with Pollocks venture being so close now.

JV chose Button as a teammate just for the chance to beat him and restablish his status against the a new young superstar in 2003 IMO.

As regards Sato, Honda have done their thing to get a Japanese driver into F1, I dont think he has to be in a Honda powered car now (although they wouldn't want him in a Toyota)

[rlinter]

Rennen,

Good to see you back.

Yep Honda have gone to great lengths recently to make it clear that Takuma is not an Honda driver! Which everyone knew he may have been honda assisted but he has never been owned by them.

JV has 3 realistic choices for '03.

1) Stay where he is hand try and be-little Jenson while CP get things sorted at his new team.
2) Move with Pollock to the new team and have them build it round him (sound familiar)
3) Take a year out to go and do all the things he has wanted to do like Le Mans etc... I am sure the ALMS or Grand-Am people will be more than happy to pay him loads to race a competitive car as he will put thousands on the gate.

My money would have to be an each way bet on 1 or 3 as we know what happened when they tried number 2 last time...