Former champ Villeneuve stays with BMW Sauber team
LONDON -- Former series champion Jacques Villeneuve will try to improve on a poor season when he returns to the BMW Sauber Formula One team.
The team said Thursday that the former Indianapolis 500 winner will be back in 2006. He'll join Nick Heidfeld, who drove for the Williams team this year.
The 34-year-old Villeneuve, who won the Indy 500 and the title in the CART series in 1995, sat out the 2004 season. This year, he scored just nine points in 19 races, 124 fewer than champion Fernando Alonso of Renault.
"Even a former world champion cannot come back after a period away and be competitive from day one," team director Mario Theissen said. "We are in no doubt that Jacques will make the BMW Sauber team stronger."
The French-Canadian driver won the Formula One title in 1997 with Williams, but moved to the new BAR team in 1999. He hasn't added to his 11 F1 victories since.
"Between 1999 and 2004, I experienced firsthand the difficulties and complexities involved in setting up a new team," Villeneuve said. "But I've never been afraid of a challenge."
The Sauber team has been purchased by BMW and will compete under the BMW Sauber name in 2006.
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