Just how good is Jacques Villeneuve really?

[Joe Fan]

Just how good is Jacques Villeneuve really? Jacques Villeneuve's last podium finish was August 15, 1998 at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Here are a list of drivers who have finished on the podium since that race:

1) Mika Hakkinen
2) Michael Schumacher
3) David Coulthard
4) Rubens Barrichello
5) Ralf Schumacher
6) Heinz-Harald Frentzen
7) Damon Hill (now retired)
8) Eddie Irvine
9) Johnny Herbert
10) Giancarlo Fisichella
11) Mika Salo
12) Jean Alesi
13) Jarno Trulli

I don't know about everyone else but it seems to me that JV should have broken loose with a podium by now if he is really the top notch driving talent that I believed he was. I am beginning to think that JV has simply lost his competitive edge. Why? Just look at the list above and then consider the following facts about driving for a new team:

1) Jackie Stewart's team got a podium finish at Monaco their first season from Rubens Barrichello in 1997. Barrichello has had his head handed to him by Schumacher since his arrival at Ferrari. This indicates to me that JV is probably no where near Michael Schumacher's talent and that he probably is not as good as the other Schumacher brother Ralf either. Ralf seemed to make lemonade out of that underpowered Williams car in 1999 that JV couldn't in 1998.

2) Even Alain Prost's team scored a podium finish in their first F1 season in 1997 with Olivier Panis at the Spanish GP. And Panis was a driver without a seat in 2000!

JV hasn't been able to muster a podium finish in 1 and 3/4ths seasons with BAR yet Rubens was able to do it quickly for Stewart GP as was Panis for Prost.

I can't see how JV has been able to get a contract that made him the second highest driver in the sport. What has he done lately to merit such a contract? Nothing I can see.

Keep in mind, no one is expecting him to win a race, but producing a podium finish by now is completely within his grasps. I can't put the blame on the quality of his ride. Why did he move to an unestablished team in the first place? If the BAR car/team is that bad, then why did he re-sign with them after the 1999 season? It makes no sense to me unless he is primarily interested in money.

[fatbloke]

The last paragraph of your post is the interesting part - almost every team on the grid would have found a place for him in their lineup. Yet he choose to stay with BAR. Either he knows something the rest of us don't, or he's getting a paypacket he couldn't get elsewhere.

[Joe Fan]

fatbloke, could it be that JV doesn't want a top ride due to the fact that he would be under much more pressure and would have to perform?

[Bononi]

Certainly he knows something we don't, and a bag full of money too. And BAR will catch up in the next years, Honda is there and tobacco money too. I don't think JV made a bad move from Williams, but maybe too early, he could raise up the team and let some guys do the hard stuff.

[fatbloke]

No, Joe Fan - I don't think he has anything to prove to anyone. He's been there, done that.

[Danielsun]

He's doing exactly what Schumacher did at Ferrari (albeit with an establish team, just in tatters) in that JV went to BAR as a new challenge. He'd already won the World Championship, so there was nothing else to prove by staying at Williams for another few seasons - especially not last year!

Once the BAR is fully worked out - with more suitability to low-downforce tracks - I'm sure he'll again be a threat. Having said that, did I not hear during the race that he actually didn't take Eau Rouge flat in qualifying?

[R]

Villeneuve once said that having won the WDC actually lowered the pressure, because no matter what happened in the future he'd always have that title. I agree with what's been said by Fatbloke and Danielsun. JV is a proven champion, and he needed a new challenge, simple as that. Of course a healthy paycheck isn't exactly a drawback! BAR is much improved from last year, and I both think and hope they will keep on improving so that JV again can challenge for podiums and - eventually - wins.

Regarding not taking Eau Rouge flat in qualifying, I'm not sure if Villeneuve said that, but I know that Jenson Button said that he had not taken it flat - saving that for next year, he said(!)

[Mr.S]

I think he thought "a works Honda deal" that has got to be good, I'v suffered this long, it has to get better with Honda. But he did make a mistake going to BAR that early. He is still one of the top drivers though.

[Jay]

Honda has created one of the best (if not the best) engines in F1 this year. Next year Honda will have even more control over the 2001 BAR, and perhaps even take control of the operation in 2002. So, maybe Villeneuve knows what he is doing.

And if it fails, he can always get out after the first year, when seats at top teams will become available.

[SL]

Fear not.

I'm sure JV will be back. He is a racer in the true spirit of the best. Had he not pulled a Minogue I'm sure he would be with Eddie living the highlife.

Should they not produce a future F1 winner any sprog will be sure to be able to sing, in the loosest sense of the word, the praises of dad

Simon

[Roy2]

Well Tracy is barely good enough for the Craftsman Trucks, so how should we rate JV? Not good enough for Winston Cup, that's for sure. Say, mid-field Busch Grand National at the very most Joe?

[Joe Fan]

In summary, all I am saying is that I think JV has moved out of the elite class of drivers. He hasn't really done anything lately to confirm in my mind that he is still an elite class driver. I feel he is more interested in money than winning and being competitive. It is obvious to me that his inability to produce a podium finish by now indicates that it is either him or his team. If it is BAR, why stay with a team that cannot be competitive if you are truly a compeitive individual? The handwriting was on the wall last year with BAR. They have improved this year but that is not saying much. I have no doubt that JV probably could have had a top notch ride by now, either for this season or for next. So what is up with him? Is just resting on his laurels and collecting the big checks?

[Handle]

Where, really, could Villeneuve go that would be a more competitive ride than BAR? McLaren has Hakkinen, the reigning double world champion. Their drivers are under contract for next season, plus, why would they want to upset the combination that is winning them championships? Ferrari has Michael Schumacher--do they really need to have two top-notch drivers to concentrate on? Going for Villeneuve would not only stretch their wallet a bit too much, it would be a slap in Schumacher's face, an insult, pretty much saying he isn't good enough.

So after that, where does he go? Williams? They have too many good drivers already (Button, R. Schumacher, Montoya, Junquiera)... do they really want to force out more young talent? And who's to say they'll be better than BAR anyway? Jordan? Haven't shown it this year. The rest? Why would he? The only other team he was considering was Benetton, and, if I'm not mistaken, he would have probably made more money if he went with them. But Benetton will probably not be much better than BAR for at least a year, and if they are, Villeneuve has clauses that allow him out of BAR if they don't perform.

I don't see where all this criticism of Villeneuve is coming from. From what I can see, he's in a rough situation, but he's making the best of it. As has been mentioned, he was already the champion. Might as well try something new.

[Crash Test]

So what, he hasn't been on the last 3 years...to get on the podium, wyou would have to hope that 2 of the McLarens or Ferraris either don't finish, or have a below par weekend. Why hasn't Zonta got a podium?

Heck, Jacques won in his second season, and came a close second in his first season. He nearly won his first ever race. How many people in F1 can bpast that? Plus he has won he Indy 500 and the Cart championship...

It's not as if he has been out there crashing out of every race...it is the reliability of the car -if he sticks with it he will get the rewards.

[Joe Fan]

Handle, wouldn't Ferrari have latched on to JV last year instead of Rubens if JV made himself available? I heard rumors that McLaren was interested in JV as well as Flavio for his Benetton team. Flavio has proven that he can win and I am sure that he will turn Benetton back into a championship caliber team. At any rate, Giancarlo has scored a podium with them this year so they are a more established team than BAR. This should have been a step up from BAR.

[Gavin Forman]

I think JV still rates as one of the top drivers.
Driving for a new team like BAR must be very frustrating for someone of his caliber.
No doubt the development and improvement of the car must be credited to him.
At least they are getting more reliable and scoring a few points now.
JV will be back, hopefully very soon.
Go JV GO.

[downforce]

If Honda and Ferrari can make an engine like the Merc...quickly...wow!!
Dream grid+battles = MS-JV-MH-RS-GF-PR-EI-then whoever.....