NASCAR a viable option for Villeneuve

Team Infidel

Forum Spin Doctor
Jacques Villeneuve believes that NASCAR is his only viable alternative should he, as seems likely, not continue racing in Formula 1 next year. The former world champion acrimoniously split with BMW after the Hungarian Grand Prix, after the 35-year-old was dumped in favour of test driver Robert Kubica for the race in Budapest. With no competitive options available in F1 for 2007, the 1995 Indianapolis 500 winner and IndyCar champion seems set to follow Juan Pablo Montoya to the Nextel Cup. “These days, NASCAR isn’t a step down from F1,” Villeneuve said in an interview with F1 Racing. “And, because of that, it’s something you can do without thinking you’re giving up on your career – just as Montoya has done. “Le Mans, sports cars, DTM, IRL, Champ Car? Well, I’m sorry, but they’re all a step down from F1. NASCAR isn’t.” If the Canadian continues to race, he says it will only be in a top category, and while the Indy 500 is still a blue riband event, Villeneuve considers the current IndyCar Series to be shadow of its former guise when he was a front-runner. “An F1 team wouldn’t seriously consider a Champ Car driver or an IRL driver these days, but they look closely at GP2 drivers all the time. In fact an F1 team would probably consider a NASCAR driver before a Champ Car driver or an IRL driver – perhaps they’d even prefer to consider a Moto GP rider."(itv.com/f1)
 
Back
Top