Jacques Villeneuve has expressed his disappointment at missing out on a return to Formula 1 this year after Stefan Grand Prix was not granted an entry.
The 1997 World Champion was close to finalizing a deal with Stefan GP to race this year, having completed a seat fitting in the team's car in Cologne earlier this week. However, his and the team's plans to race in 2010 have now had to be abandoned after the FIA announced that Stefan would not be replacing US F1 on the grid.
Villeneuve told SPEEDTV.com he was sad but philosophical about what had happened.
"Of course it's disappointing," he said. "The car and team looked very promising, but we always knew there was a risk without having the entry, and it was running late. So it's not a full surprise, but it's still disappointing.
"There was a lot of potential with the car. It was built and it was a full-blown project. It wasn't something started from scratch, and it was going to be competitive. It's a shame because it would have been a new team which could have run properly, but that's the way it is."
Although Villeneuve's hopes of an F1 return appear over for now, the Canadian still believes further opportunities could arise.
"It's been a long process, so there's no point to can it now," he said about getting himself race fit. "Who knows, there might be some driver changes during the year, as the teams are not all fully secure. And there's still 2011."