Villeneuve leaves BMW Sauber by mutual consent

Former world champion Jacques Villeneuve has left BMW Sauber with immediate effect in a move which could bring his Formula One career to an end.

The French-Canadian’s contract was due to expire at the end of this season, but has been terminated by mutual consent.

Vileneuve was replaced by test driver Robert Kubica for last weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix after the Canadian told the Hinwil-based squad he was not ready to race following his shunt at Hockenheim.

But it now seems that the crash hastened his exit from the team, although he still had five races to run on his contract.

BMW motorsport director Mario Theissen said in a team statement: ”Jacques has performed well for us this year, scoring the team’s first grand prix points in Malaysia.

“He has made a significant contribution to developing the newly formed BMW Sauber F1 Team and the performance of the car.

“However, after Jacques’ accident in the Hockenheim race the team decided to review its options for next year, including assessing Robert Kubica in a race environment.

“Our decision to look towards evaluating our driver line up has naturally impacted Jacques’ position for the remainder of this season.

“We fully understand that it is difficult for Jacques to maintain his natural level of commitment in circumstances of uncertainty.

“We respect his position and wish him well for the future.”

Such a shame to see Villeneuve go as he was driving so much better this season compared to 2005. I will miss the Canadian’s driving in Formula One and his unique, fun personality. I wish him all the best and would love to see him drive a race car again…

…And if the rumours are true, we could see Jacques racing in NASCAR, like a certain Colombian who left Formula One last month. Two F1 stars racing on ovals? Oh yes.

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