By Phil Huff
March 22 2003

He may no longer be racing, but that's not going to stop Eddie Irvine grabbing headlines. In his latest column for British tabloid The Sun, the Ulsterman criticises David Richards for the 'Thelma and Louise' nonsense at BAR. He may no longer be racing, but that's not going to stop Eddie Irvine grabbing headlines. In his latest column for British tabloid The Sun, the Ulsterman criticises David Richards for the 'Thelma and Louise' nonsense at BAR. Irvine feels the reason Villeneuve is attacking his team-mate Button is because the 1997 World Champion is "fighting for his F1 future", which in turn, writes the former Jordan and Ferrari driver, comes down to money. Irvine is of the opinion that the reason Richards is refusing to step in and calm the situation is because he wants the Canadian out of the team. "The bickering and ill-feeling being generated between the two BAR drivers is all down to one man," writes Irvine. "David Richards". "Richards has made no secret of the fact he feels Villeneuve's £14m contract, which comes to an end this year, is too high," adds Irvine. "When Richards took over the running of the team he should have looked closely at the legality of the deal and once he discovered there was no loophole he should have swallowed the bitter pill and got on with the job of moving the team up the grid. "As Villeneuve climbs into the cockpit for tomorrow's Malaysian Grand Prix Richards will be reminded how much he has to pay for his services," he adds. "It grates on him and I am in no doubt he would be the happiest man in the pit-lane if Villeneuve was to suddenly quit the team. But it is hardly Villeneuve's fault he is the second highest-paid racer behind Michael Schumacher, and trying to make his life difficult is not the way to get the best out of him. "Villeneuve knows he has nothing to lose," adds the man who until his dumping by Jaguar at the end of 2002 was the highest paid employee on Ford's payroll, at an estimated £7m a year. "He has no respect for many of the people in the team and that is why he will go down fighting to the very end. "Richards is allowing the team to be split into two camps," Irvine continues. "Villeneuve is feeling unwanted and while he may have some faithful supporters there will be plenty of spineless ones who will suck up to Richards and back what is going on. "People are comparing the spat to the days when Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost were constantly at each other's throats while driving for McLaren," he adds, "but they were the two best drivers in the best car so they could afford to act they way they did. "The friction at BAR may be good for the media but it is doing nothing for the team who should be looking at scoring points. They had the fastest car in Melbourne and Villeneuve was out-paced by Button. That must be a worry to him because if Button gets on top, Villeneuve will be the first team-mate he has beaten. "If that is going to be the case, and I find it hard to believe," adds Irvine, "Villeneuve is history.