With fans of Jacques Villeneuve working themselves into a frenzy, following the comments made by his former boss at BAR, David Richards, it's worth noting that the 1997 World Champion isn't the only driver that the Englishman is critical of in his end of season review for F1 Racing magazine - though his comments about the Canadian do appear overly harsh.

On Giancarlo Fisichella, Richards says: "I've rated him for a long time but he just didn't come up with the goods when he was under pressure. When all's said and done he just couldn't hack it with Fernando, could he?"

"Juan Pablo was a disappointment to me, because I thought he'd be able to hold his own with Kimi," he says of Montoya. "But in general his was a rather erratic and slightly shabby performance."

"He's one of those people who has always sat in the background," Richards says of Nick Heidfeld. "Put it this way; he's not someone I ever seriously thought about hiring when I was a BAR. And between now and his retirement, whenever that will be, he's never going to set the world alight."

Now, in the eyes of many, Heidfeld gave WilliamsF1 teammate, Mark Webber, a good run for his money, indeed there are some that feel the Australian was a bit of a disappointment, not Richards: "I'm a great fan of Mark," he admits. "I just like him as a character. He's a great grafter. He's a great personality. I always felt he would pull the team around him and really get them to work. And yet there were times this year when I could see his frustration. The under-performance was starting to get to him."

And of Antonio Pizzonia, who replaced Heidfeld in the final races of the season: "I reckon that the number of messy accidents and silly situations he got into rather hastened his exit. I suspect we've seen the last of him in F1."

Finally, Jenson Button, who Richards took to BAR in 2003: "Jenson drove superbly - on occasion. I used to say that I thought he was a future World Champion - well, all I can say is that now I'm less certain. I just hope he doesn't start feeling too secure in his situation because, although he's highly regarded by the British public and he's very promotable, he still hasn't won any of his 100-odd Grands Prix."

Then again, some might think that David would be best served concentrating on the WRC, of which he is commercial rights holder, which appears to be falling down around him.