JV has found memories of Australia

BMW Sauber F1 Team driver, Jacques Villeneuve has shown consistently impressive performances during the Australian Grand Prix. In his debut season in 1996, he immediatly managed to achieve pole position and finished second in the race.

"It's always a pleasure to travel to Melbourne. I enjoy racing at Albert Park - I like the circuit and am looking forward to the GP," says Jacques Villeneuve. Prior to this year's Grand Prix race, the Canadian will be kept very busy on the south-eastern Australian coast. The driver's schedule includes visiting various charity events and acting as instructor for the participants in the BMW celebrity Challenge. "BMW has got a lot of things going on around the Grand Prix and that in itself will make it an interesting weekend for me," comments Jacques.

Following his seventh place at the Malaysian Grand Prix, Jacques is highly motivated to add another good result in Melbourne. "As for our performance, I think the two points we collected in Malaysia show that we can be pretty competitive - and that was pshychologically important for the team." The 34-year-old makes a point of praising the hard work of the engineers following his retirement at the Bahrain GP. "BMW has proved with my engine that they can react extremely quickly when a problem comes up."

Jacques is, however, well aware of the fact that the third Grand Prix of the season will be the next real test of strenght for the BMW Sauber F1 Team. The 1997 World Champion explains: "The circuit in Australia is another one that's very heavy on engines, and this will be my second race with the engine I used in Malaysia. So we'll have to exercise a certain amount of caution during the weekend."