1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve says he is keen to get back racing soon – as he admits he would be open to offers from Formula 1 teams.
The French-Canadian has had little joy in trying to make a breakthrough in NASCAR and, making an appearance at this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix, he made it clear he wants to get back in the cockpit soon. "I'm looking at getting back into racing," Villeneuve told AUTOSPORT.
There had been rumors in recent weeks that Villeneuve was looking at an F1 comeback. And, although he has not made any serious bid to secure a seat, he says he would be open to any opportunities that came up.
"It's not something I've worked on actively," he explained. "Looking at the cars now and the championship it would be fun, but I have been much more active working on NASCAR.
"I live in Canada, but when you see the F1 cars with slicks and no refueling next year, it is everything I've asked for over the years, so there is a little moment where you think, 'Wouldn't it be great?', but that is it.
"If there was an opportunity I would not spit on it, the cars are everything I wanted them to be to drive, so it would be fun, and honestly it is a little bit boring right now – nobody says anything apart from the political aspect, so it looks like it could be fun.
"I was talking with [former race engineer] Jock [Clear] and his comments were that the cars would suit me. So if there was an opportunity it would be a lot easier to say yes than no, purely because I love driving, I love racing and these are amazing cars."
When asked for his feelings about Brawn GP's success this year, with the team's roots traced back to the British American Racing outfit that Villeneuve helped set up, he said: "There is a part of me that is very happy because I built that team up. There is a little bit of pride there, and it shows that it wasn't a bad project in the long run"