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Villeneuve tastes success
Jacques Villeneuve scored his first points since 2003 and ended speculation about his F1 future.
Canadian Jacques Villeneuve scored his first points since 2003 on Sunday and breathed a sigh of relief after weeks of speculation about his Formula One future.
"I've had a hell of a time this year, so it's sweet to score these points while making a point of my own," said the Sauber driver, who finished sixth at the San Marino Grand Prix.
Villeneuve, the 1997 champion for Williams, has been pilloried for his mediocre performances in his first three races for Sauber.
Even friend and race rival David Coulthard had predicted that the 34-year-old, who started his comeback with Renault late last year after being dropped by BAR in 2003, could walk away or be pushed out should he fail to improve his form at Imola.
"We didn't know that we would have so much improvement in the car when we arrived here this weekend, and that has really helped," said Villeneuve. "I thoroughly enjoyed my race.
"I made a great start and my pit stops couldn't have been better, so thanks to the team for their efforts on my behalf this afternoon.
"Having the improvement also permitted me more freedom from the team in setting up the car the way I like, and that played its part too. This has been a good weekend and everything and everyone is more positive."
Villeneuve's manager and former BAR team boss Craig Pollock said the Canadian driver had taken everything in his stride.
"It is a bit of a relief because we had confidence that it was all still there, there was no reason why not, and now he's been able to turn off a few critics," he told Reuters.
"He knows it's still in him but he just had to wait for the right race and luckily it came here. We always said his season would start in Imola.
"If it (the criticism) doesn't die down now then its pretty pathetic," added Pollock. "You saw a very strong race and it wasn't just one or two laps, it was very consistent throughout the race."
Pollock said, however, that taking the pressure off was of secondary importance.
"What this shows is that the team have made a big step forward aerodynamically. I think there is a lot in that," he said.
"They've also made a big step forward in the fact that they listened to Jacques and let him set his car up which has given him the possibility of attacking."
