Villeneuve’s days numbered

Despite having a contract with the Sauber F1 team that runs until the end of 2006, it's pretty safe to say that Jacques Villeneuve's time with the Swiss squad appears to be nearing an end. There comes a time in every driver's career when they simply are no longer fast enough because reflexes slow with age and that fact is magnified in the ultra fast world of F1.

"Jacques is certainly too slow," team owner Peter Sauber told Autosprint magazine. "We've all become aware of it, himself and us."

Sauber said both the team and the driver were finding it hard to discover the reasons for Villeneuve's lack of pace.

"He goes too slow and it's difficult to find the cause, but it represents a problem which we must solve internally," added Sauber.