By Phil Huff
December 11 2002

Bernie Ecclestone recently said that he would enjoy seeing JV and Michael go head-to-head in the same car, and if the Canadian's manager Craig Pollock gets his way it could still happen. In Canada for a charity ski event, the former BAR boss talked of his hopes and dreams for Villeneuve, his client and very close friend.

"In truth, Jacques should be looking to get into one of the four best teams," said the Scot.

"Personally, what I would like to see is Schumacher and Villeneuve in the same team," he continued." Not simply for Jacques or Michael, but for the well-being of the sport.

"At the time of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost there was healthy competition between the two. It is the only way of arousing interest when you have one dominant team. You need the two drivers to fight one another.

Villeneuve has already made it clear that he could never play a supporting role to Schumacher.

"We have discussed several scenarios," says Pollock. I'm not saying that we are adamant about Jacques joining Ferrari, after all Michael would have a say in the matter.

"But if Ferrari were to continue its domination of F1 in 2003, I'm sure Bernie would want to explore other ways of adding interest to the sport. Everyone is aware of the rivalry between these two champions. It would generate great interest.

Looking ahead to next season, Pollock insists that his charge will respect his contract with BAR: "We have a contract," says Pollock. "And I sincerely believe that everyone should respect a contract, certainly I don't see any reason for Jacques not to respect it. There is a lot of money involved."

Of course money is a key issue, and despite the lack of results in recent years, Villeneuve still commands one of the highest salaries.

"Everyone in F1 knows that for the last four years Jacques has not had good material at his disposal" says Pollock. "But this year, Jacques is surprisingly confident of being competitive and achieving podium finishes. This is what he needs to achieve in order to hold the interest of the big teams.

"In 1997, the year of Jacques' championship, being in the right car showed that it can make the difference," adds the Scot. "This year, Williams was not the best car, but nevertheless it gained at the expense of Schumacher."

Source: www.PitPass.com