Here are the facts: Former world champion (and Canadian hero) Jacques Villeneuve has returned to Formula One. He's signed for two seasons with Sauber-Petronas, a private team with whom Ferrari has very close ties. (Ferrari builds engines for them, this year that made their gearboxes, Jean Todt's son manages Filipe Massa, a Sauber driver who last year was Ferrari's third driver...the list goes on.) Ferrari's star driver, seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, is on contract for another two seasons. And if I'm not mistaken, the same goes for their second driver, Rubens Barrichelo. Therefore, Villeneuve's contract with Sauber will be done at the same time as Ferrari will be needing a new pilot or two. Villeneuve's father, the famed Gilles Villeneuve raced for Ferrari, and died while doing it. Now here's what I'm thinking: If Jacques Villeneuve does well for Sauber over the next two years -- that is, better than he did for BAR, Arrows before them, and so far with Renault -- then he could easily move up from Sauber to Ferrari. Imagine that. Villeneuve, jr. racing for his daddy's team. The publicity value alone is too much to miss. Granted, Jacques is going to have to do a lot better to deserve a seat at Ferrari. But he's a naturally talented driver who has both the Formula One and CART championships under his belt. Mark my words and remember this day. If Villeneuve does well over the next two seasons, he'll be Ferrari's next driver. Any thoughts?
It could happen and I hope he does. Seing JV driving Gilles F1 Ferrari this past summer at Goodwood was very special to me. Now I want to see him driving a modern Ferrari to fight for the championship. I hope he does well at Sauber because there's many drivers that could get a Ferrari seat. Fisichella could get a Ferrari drive(he has 2 a year contract with Renault and imagine if he does well) and also... Raikkonen, Alonso, Massa and Liuzzi.
Obviously I have a strong affinity for the name Villeneuve, but I don't seriously think that Ferrari really sees him as much more than an experienced past-champion, regardless of who his dad was. Jacques is as different a person and driver than his dad was as Ferrari now is different from Ferrari then. If, in two years, Jacques is the best possible driver to sign, then they will go after him. What they WON'T do is sign him for mere surname-nostalgia purposes.
Looking at his poor performance in the Renault I would say his time is over. But then again I was very disappointed with Fisico at the beginning of this year too and during the season he became a star at Sauber. So I'll give JV the benefit of the doubt. If nothing else it will put the Sauber more into the spotlight with his name on the side. That by itself is helpful for the team to find sponsors. Other than that I go with the general sentiment here: Raikkoenen in the Ferrari in the post Schumacher era. Maybe with Liuzzi or some other hot shot. If I had to make a prediction, I would pick Davidson. Of all the rookies this year, he impressed me the most by constantly being at the top on Friday. It can't be just the amount of fuel etc.
you're all forgetting MS hates his guts and as long as Schumi has anything to do with Ferrari then JV will NEVER drive for them , and if he did and anything went wrong it would be JV's fault and I'd be one of the first to point the finger. He's a greedy egotistical t055er who did nothing at BAR with heaps of money and don't point to the WDC he's got as my boy could have won it in the car he had....OK a little over the top but the fact remains Schumi will torpedo the idea first.
...it ain't gonna happen...not as long as he's doesn't shave and tuck in his shirt.LOL!!! Even JV admitted that Sauber is not Ferrari's farm team. If anything, they're looking at drivers such as Raikonnen and Button. Not to mention, Schumy and co. have developped the car so much over the last 8 years, that anything JV would bring to the table would be negligible.
It has come up a few times over the years in various magazines. JV has said repeatedly that, "I am not ready to drive for Ferrari" alluding to issues his father had with Ferrari and the obvious death. Remember JV was in the middle of the Ferrari scene with his father as a kid, so he may have a biased inside look at the team that has not changed, though the team has. Now he drove his father's car at Goodwood and said it brought closure, so maybe one half of the equation is fixed. But, I still don't think he is on Ferrari's short list of future drivers. Maybe 4 or 5 years ago he could have been a contender, but his opportunity may have passed, and his performance and personality may not endear him to Ferrari's decision makers. He is one of only two former world champions racing, and though I like him, only his name and past performance are his assets.
How old would he be in 2007? It seems that this next year will probably be JVs swan song. I seriously doubt he will finish his contract with Sauber. Driving around scrapping for a point here and there with BAR was one thing, he was being paid MS-type money to do so. Putting your life on the line for little money (relatively speaking) when you don't really need the money (I assume) does not seem to me to be very logical. My conclusion is that he either will decide that driving for an uncompetitve team is not worth it and retire for good, or try to use the Sauber drive to move up to a better car. So Ferrari may actually play into the plans after all. If MS retires after 2005, RB stays on for his shot at the championship, and Webber, Kimi, or Alonso moves up to Ferrari, that would leave an open spot in one of the competitve teams.
No, he won't sign with Ferrari. Ferrari will want someone who can make a long-term commitment to the team, like Michael and Rubens have done. JV is simply too old to make this commitment. Also, why sign him when FA and KR are quicker, and 10 years younger?
He has? ... hadn't noticed, just going around and around in uninspirational circles beating a pathetic team mate in Massa. Nobody even talks about him (ie. f1 mags and news in general). Pete
You're not looking Pete: Fisico has consistently brought the car home and into the points making this Sauber's most successful year ever. No Johnny Herbert nor Frentzen were able to match this. Agreed on the Massa part. Don't get me wrong, I'm no Fisico fan, but he did about all that was possible with the Sauber this year. If JV can live up that expectation, I'm already satisfied, but I doubt it.
LOL Almost too late: He'll go back to Renault and switch back in his drive-for-a-living mode, which was first patented by Patrese. Only his hopes of ever driving a real Ferrari got him going this year...
Totally out of the question. Villeneuve will be about 35 by then. Any replacement for Schumacher will be some 10 years younger. If Ferrari can get their hands on Raikkonen, he will be the man, simply because he is the best alternative. Perhaps Alonso is on the shortlist as well. If Ferrari had any special interest in Villeneuve, they would've made their move a long time ago, but they didn't. Besides, I don't think Jacques has got what it takes to make it at Ferrari. The name in itself is not enough. If anything, it'll only take away from the Villeneuve-name and the magic relationship with the Ferrari Formula 1-team from over 20 years ago.