Villeneuve Confirmed to Line Up beside Heidfeld in New BMW Sauber F1 Team

BMWs Theissen is Confident in Jacques Abilities

Fans of Canadian F1 star Jacques Villeneuve, the only North American contestant in Formula 1, can breathe a sigh of relief as he has just been confirmed as teammate to German "Quick" Nick Heidfeld for the new BMW Sauber F1 Team in 2006.

Villeneuve, who maintained his belief that his contract, which runs through to the end of the 2006 season, would be honored by Saubers new BMW owner, has been given a vote of confidence by his new team boss.

"We took a close look at Jacques performance level at the end of last season," explained  BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen. "After an extremely tough first half of the year - which showed that even a former World Champion cannot come back after a period away and be competitive from day one - he got closer and closer to his teammate over the second half of the season. We are in no doubt that Jacques will make the BMW Sauber F1 Team stronger."

Fans of the former 1997 World Champion, the only title holder next to Ferraris seven-times winner Michael Schumacher, will be hoping his new team will show him greater support than the Sauber team seemed to during the first half of 2005, when Villeneuve struggled with the setup of his car and rarely outperformed his Brazilian teammate Filipe Massa - who incidentally has moved on to Ferrari for 2006.

JV fans will also be keeping their fingers crossed that BMW Sauber doesnt experience the same growing pains as former team BAR Honda did during its first five years on the F1 grid.

"Between 1999 and 2004 I experienced first-hand the difficulties and complexities involved in setting up a new team," commented Villeneuve, "but Ive never been afraid of a challenge. Sauber was already a good team and now we also have the resources of BMW behind us. I will do everything I can to contribute to the success of the BMW Sauber F1 Team."

JV, currently living in Villars, Switzerland, will begin testing in Jerez on the 8th of December. Hes up against a formidable opponent in teammate Heidfeld - in F1 the first person a driver has to beat is his teammate - who has long been a fast and reliable contestant.

No one is expecting BMW Sauber to come out of the box flying when it debuts alongside rival Formula 1 teams in Bahrain next March, but BMW will be looking for a more successful stint with its new team than it enjoyed as an engine supplier for Williams, at least after a reasonable "getting-to-know-you" stage.

Jacques will no doubt realize that this may indeed be his last kick at the F1 can, knowing that many up and coming drivers will become available at the end of this coming season and a strong showing in 2006 may find him enjoying a new contract for 2007 and beyond.

Many considered former McLaren driver David Coulthard washed up before his impressive showing in the new Red Bull team, but he now is sitting pretty with a relatively competitive team and a fresh new contract. JV will without doubt have a similar goal in his sights.