JV to stay at BAR next year/news story (merged)

[Blue]

with performance basis contract... Its still rumor, but if it is true, he is going to sign it next month.

[sonic]

id be astounded if JV stays at BAR next year. Sato must be a dead cert if Honda have any say in what happens there. which they do.

[ferrari_mark]

I can't see that JB will go so if it's true about Sato the one to go will surely be JV.

[climb]

Performance basis contract?
from what i'm seeing now it's like to say thet Mr Richards has found a sweet way to fire him...just a few Gp and the time to find a replacement

[MrSal]

Can't see him staying. Sato is a cert and there appears to be ill feeling between JV and Richards anyway.

[Bononi]

Kind of he's going to retire then, performance basis contracts had proved to be a frustration to drivers.

[bastinscully]

I reckon Honda wouldn`t be best pleased if Sato didn`t get the seat next year, what with the reaction taku got in Japan 2001. JV did say he would quit if Jenson started to beat him!!

[Testure]

I can certainly see him staying; he's a talented, experienced driver willing to drive for peanuts. Don't think the bad vibes between Villeneuve, Button and Richards are as bad as they might have appeared earlier. Button and JV have seemed more pally recently and I've seen quotes from Richards saying they've done a pretty poor job this year (reliability, etc.) for JV. Honda have said repeatedly that Taku is in F1 because he's a great driver, not because of any affiliation he has with Honda.

On the other hand, I don't really want to see Jacques stay there. He's still one of the better drivers on the grid - better than Barrichello, Coulthard, Ralf Schumacher and Trulli in my opinion. It's so depressing to see him struggling with his machinery.

[ringo]

bring in sato...

[shiny side up!]

How exactly does a performance contract work? You get a slim base salary, and bonuses are defined for certain acheivments? Like what, a pole, fastest lap, podium, points finish, etc? Do they include bits about beating your teammate? If i drove for Minardi and kicked my teammate's arse every weekend but always finished 12th, what does my pay look like?

So, let's pretend that JV was on a performance contract this year... how would he be doing? His car breaks every time he even approaches the top 10... I don't see how being on a performance contract will benefit him in the least at BAR...

[neilap]

Honda is not stupid. If Sato is not up to the job there is no way they will allow DR, JB or anyone to force JV out of the team. That said, Sato is a Honda protégé. He is already doing tons of PR work for them. He is doing a lot to bring recognition to the team around the world. IMO JV's future is in his and his managements hands. Sato is not as good as he is. If JV is willing to take a pay cut and be more of a team player I don't see why he would be replaced. Honda is in F1 to win. If JV gives them a better opportunity than Sato (which he does) then Sato may be warming the bench a little longer.

The only hope I see for Sato is if JV and his team absolutely don't like what they are being offered and say so long. BAR knows they wont be fighting for the title next year so maybe they would take the chance with Sato again to weigh his merit. I feel he can be good, as good as Button. Its all up to how much Sato can control that raging spirit that dwells within him.

[neilap]

Originally posted by shiny side up!
I don't see how being on a performance contract will benefit him in the least at BAR...

I would assume extenuating circumstances are taken into consideration.

[speedbump]

Imagin if JV was on a performance contract this year.
How would you pay him ????
He does a Good job untill somthing goes on the car.

The only guy making money on a performance contract this year would be the Tow Truck Driver.

I'd like to see him leave BAR and got to
Ferrari ? , Williams ? , Mclaren ? , Renault ?
We'll see.

Good Luck to JV
He need's some right now.

[Hungary 89]

I think its about time JV looked to move on but if he can't get into a Ferrari, Williams or Mclaren next year BAR is as good a place as any to be, The team have had a full year of relative stability in the design dept. The managment all seem to be pulling in the right direction. I think the decision to delay the introduction of the 2004 car until the start of the European season is a good one. All that coupled with Jaques willing ness to allow the teams money to go into the car rather than his back pocket makes another year in the BAR look a worth while.

Besides that if its a one year contract only he will become contractually free at the same time as alot of the drivers in the top teams so that would be the better time to move on

[Bononi]

But don't put your money in such a change, there are many young talents that would fill the places in the top teams. Hardly one of the top ones would get JV to drive for them...

[Coach44]

I would like to see Jacques move on. If I was Frank Williams I would fire Ralph "I'm afraid to pass my Brother" Schumacher and take JV instead. That would give him 2 racers instead of a racer (JPM) and a "follow the leader" driver.

I see Williams as the only top 3 that JV would have a chance to drive for...so the odds are he will probably re-sign with BAR

[Stampeder]

Picked this up from a canadian news source,

"(posted Jun. 25, 5:13PM EDT)
Jacques Villeneuve's cars aren't very reliable, his status as a Formula One star is plummeting, and his fat paycheque is severely weighing down his free agency options.

As Formula One hits the second half of the season, the Iberville, Que., native is clearly at a crossroads in his career. He has just eight more races to look at his options and pick the right course to follow.

“I am very confident he is going to be in Formula One next year,” said Craig Pollock, Villeneuve's manager. “I think it would be the greatest shame for Formula One to lose a personality such as Jacques.”

Villeneuve was definitely once a top star.

He moved over to F1 after winning the CART championship and the 1995 Indianapolis 500. As the only North American driver in the series, he built a tremendous fan base and was at the height of his popularity and profession when he won the F1 title in 1997.

What he did afterward made him financially secure for life, but drastically derailed his career.

Villeneuve left Williams, where he won his title, and followed Pollock as the manager helped form British American Racing in 1999. He got a monstrous contract out of it -- Villeneuve's estimated $20 million US a year salary is second only to five-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher.

But BAR-Honda is just a mid-level team that doesn't give Villeneuve a chance to win. Headed into the European Grand Prix this weekend, Villeneuve hasn't won a race since 1997.

Although his contract is up after this year, it's not clear where the 32-year-old racer will end up.

He's too expensive for most teams to pursue -- BAR can't even afford to re-sign him at his going rate. Also, there's no sign that a seat will open at Ferrari, Williams or McLaren, the only teams that can afford him and also put him in a competitive ride.

Where Villeneuve ends up is anyone's guess.

“I don't want to wait until I am 50 to be in a position to be competitive again,” he said. “But when you make a decision, you have to see what is available and what your options are, and it is impossible for me to give you an answer until I know what the options really are.

“It is easy to say now, `Oh, I only want to drive in these kind of teams,' but when the question is you drive in another team or you stay at home, then maybe you will change your mindset.”

Villeneuve is suffering through a miserable fifth season with BAR with just three points and two straight DNFs -- including two weeks ago at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the track named after his late father.

But a driver in his position, unsure of where he'll end up and unsure who even wants him in a car, doesn't really have many choices.

F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone wants Villeneuve to retain a spot on the grid, where he and Schumacher are the only active series champions.

But Ecclestone believes that years of running in the back of the pack have demoralized Villeneuve and a top ride is the only thing that will rejuvenate the driver.

“How can he motivate himself? He has won the CART series, the world championship, he has won a lot of races,” Ecclestone said. “I imagine he comes to a race and thinks, `If I really do a good job, maybe I can qualify 10th, maybe, and maybe in a race I can run eighth or ninth.' Hey, what difference is it to him if he is 13th or seventh?

“I would like to see him in the Ferrari.”

But that won't happen because Villeneuve is too proud to be the No. 2 to Schumacher.

“I wouldn't drive in Rubens Barrichello's position,” Villeneuve said.

So Villeneuve has to take a long hard look around the paddock and figure out where he can best fit in. He says he'll take a pay cut if it means driving for a team that can win races.

“If it were a team in a position to bring the results that I want I don't think that money would be a real problem for me,” he said.

Pollock, a shareholder at BAR, still thinks that team can be among the top three in F1 and has not ruled out finding a way for Villeneuve to remain there.

But the manager is confident other winning teams will want the driver and that a contract with a low base salary and performance incentives could make Villeneuve an extremely aactive option.

“Top drivers dictate that a lot of money be spent on them,” Pollock said. “But a top driver's head also dictates that he wants to win. Having made the money in the past, he would be going for a contract where he could win now.”
© The Canadian Press, 2002

[Adam43]

fits in nicely with the current Villeneuve thread.

[Mr V]

Oh goody, yet another Villeneuve thread

[Farc]

I read that Jacques will drive for the mac next year in the place of DC.
Good Source

[EERO]

Name it Farc, because it goes completely against the conventional wisdom.

[Fogelhund]

As a supporter of his, I'd rather him retire then spend another year with BAR.

[Coach44]

Originally posted by Farc
I read that Jacques will drive for the mac next year in the place of DC.
Good Source

This would be "highly unlikely" not to say impossible (as nothing is impossible in F1). Dennis doesn't like JV so....:confused:

[steve_r]

Different Car, different era, and different driver i know but - Riccardo Patrase had a performance contract towards the end of his F1 career with Benatton, and he did very well out of it - picking up constant points scoring finishes and probably earning a lot of cash in the process. (And also proving he wasnt a "has-been" that some people thought st the time!!).

I can already hear next years conspiracy theorists claiming next year that any JV break-down is due to Dave Richards wanting to save money

Presumably any performace based contract would be professionaly drawn up, taking into account the teams performance expectations. <insert gag here>

[Hugh Jarce]

Originally posted by Stampeder
“I wouldn't drive in Rubens Barrichello's position,” Villeneuve said.

Obviously realises that he doesn't have the pace and ability to challenge MS for the WDC with similar gear!

Or, what on earth would stop him taking such a seat?

Suerly not arrogance and pride at being a No. 2. If so, he's probably on the way out as his head wouldn't fit in any of the existing cars.