JV’s eyes slow him down?

UPDATE Hmm, another Villeneuve-bashing story eh? I'm sure JV doesn't have 20-20 vision – but then neither does anyone else in the paddock. I'd wager that purely because he wears contacts, JV's eyesight is a lot closer to 20-20 than many of the other drivers. Without them, for sure he would struggle, but then so would I! Without my glasses I can barely see, with them there is no problem, and I can see things a lot more clearly than many of my friends. No, the thing that is slowing Jacques down is being in a Sauber… Neil Tipton, UK 10/31/05 Jacques Villeneuve has played down suggestions that deteriorating eyesight is slowing him down in formula one. Like a few other drivers, the 34-year-old Canadian wears contact lenses while at the wheel of his grand prix racer.

But, unlike Ralf Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello, the French Canadian – who may stay at Hinwil (Sauber) next year to drive for BMW – is seldom seem anywhere in the paddock without a pair of glasses.

It has led to speculation that JV has the worst eyesight in formula one. Moreover, it is understood that contact lenses do not restore his vision to '20-20'.

''If my eyesight was bad,'' Jacques told F1 Racing magazine, ''then I would have hit a guardrail at Monaco. Well, I was very quick at Monaco.''

Villeneuve reckons some other drivers – not just Ralf and Rubens – 'hide the fact' that they also wear contact lenses.