Jacques, any developments on your situation for next year?
Jacques Villeneuve: No development has ever been needed for next year so what do you want me to say? The same contract that was signed last year is still in place, so no, there is no development.
Some people say that you signed a contract with Sauber and now it's become BMW; what do you say about that?
JV: That it is still the same company. Sauber didn't go bankrupt.
Interesting to hear your comments about 1) the circuit and 2) China. Can you expand on those?
JV: The circuit is fun to drive. It's interesting. It's not easy to get right, different to most tracks that we have. There are some good overtaking opportunities. It's fun.
But you say that the stress of life in China is somewhat wearing…
JV: Yes, it is a little bit stressful, which is probably fun when you're here on holiday, but for racing it can make life a bit difficult. If you're staying in town, it can take an hour and a half to come to the track. We're not doing that this year.
The last time you two (Juan Pablo Montoya is sitting beside him) were side-by-side might have been in Suzuka and it didn't come off so well. What was your version of it, Jacques?
JV: I was a bit surprised when I saw Juan Pablo in the wall. When you're racing and you go through a corner, you only leave room if the guy's next to you. If the person is still behind you just take your line and you expect the other person to lift, because he hasn't won the corner. That's all. I was concentrating on the straight line and once I got on the straight, I looked in the mirrors to see where he was and I saw him in the wall so I was a bit surprised. I guess Juan Pablo judged that he would be next to me by the time we got to the exit…
Juan Pablo Montoya: I was.
JV: No you weren't. If you had been next to me, it would have been front wheel against front wheel. Being next to one means that your front wheel is next to his front wheel. If you're behind the front wheel, then you're not next to the person, you're not in the line of sight.
So you didn't agree with what the stewards had to say.
JV: No, definitely not. I spent all my career always accepting blame when I've done something wrong, and this time I won't accept blame and I find it very very disappointing because the next step is when someone tries to overtake you, you just lift in the middle of the straight line and let him by. I find that a little bit dangerous, mostly when you see that some drivers will put another one on the grass in the middle of a straightline and there's no punishment for that. So I find that a little bit difficult to accept.
Juan Pablo?
JPM: What he's saying in a way is true. The rules are so inconsistent with everybody that it's very hard to judge. In a way he got a penalty, but in a way he didn't. He got a 25 second penalty when he finished 12th. What does that matter? It doesn't change anything. It's kind of ridiculous that you give a penalty to someone who finished 12th which is probably going to drop him a place. Wow, 13th. I think I was side-by-side with Jacques. When I came out of the chicane, he came across the track to block me. I went the other way… on the video, when I came down the circuit I was beside him. It doesn't matter. It happens. He said he didn't see me and when he looked it was too late but… I tried not to hit wheels. If you touch wheels you would probably end up in the grandstand or something and I would just rather finish one car in the wall than one in the grandstand.
On the subject of this race, you've been here since Monday. What are your feelings about China and the circuit?
JPM: It's nice. I've been to the Chinese market and I've been around a little bit. I had a couple of foot massages which have been quite nice. Last year I didn't do anything so this year I've tried a bit more. It's been quite enjoyable actually.
Go back and look at this season as a whole. You had a difficult start to the season, do you feel totally comfortable within the team now?
JPM: Yeah. There's bits that can always be improved. I'm looking forward to next year if they change the car a little bit more to my driving style, if they keep developing the car towards my driving style. I think we've done a bit of development this year - at the beginning of the year - that I can drive the car… (phone rings) sorry, that's me! (Laughter)
How does your driving style differ in that way?
JPM: My driving style is still the same. It's just that we changed the car a lot. I think I was very used to the Williams, the way the Williams reacted and behaved. This car is just so different from that. Even with the 18, I got into the 18 and I couldn't even drive it. It was so different to what I was used to. It was a bit of a shock at the beginning of the year. I started to get used to the car, then broke my shoulder and then when I came back it was still a bit of the same and then people took me off, I had all kinds of things, problems, the red flag, all kinds of things and then broke down, and it really took time to get a decent result in, and it was a bit frustrating, but finally we did and managed to turn the season around, which was very important for me, to get the team behind me and everything.
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