Craig Pollock, manager, mentor and close friend of 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve, has confirmed that 'JV 2004' is far more mellow character, indeed, the real Jacques Villeneuve.
Last week, on his return to F1, Villeneuve told reporters that he had mellowed, that old ghosts had been laid to rest, and hatchets buried. Now, he simply wants to race.
"It's not a new Jacques Villeneuve you're seeing, it's the real one," said Pollock, according to Reuters. "He's gone back to his normal personality.
"The last three years with British American Racing made him a little bit bitter about being with a team that didn't really want him and he reacted against it," added Pollock. "Today he's like he was when he came into Formula One in his first year in 1996 when he was really happy to come into the paddock, people were happy to see him and his team were happy that he was there.
"He's just wanting to drive, just desperate to drive," said the Scot. "Nobody is an enemy at the moment.
"In the past, when he was not depressed but certainly down about what was happening, everybody was an enemy," admitted Pollock who founded BAR and built the team around Villeneuve. "He just didn't want to see anybody, he said 'Okay, I've got a contract and I'll do my job' and that was it. That's also I think why the performance in the last year wasn't what it could be."
From the moment David Richards appeared on the scene at Brackley, following the ousting of Pollock less than 24-hours before the launch of the 2002 car, it was clear that the Englishman and the tempestuous Canadian would never gel.
When Richards brought Jenson Button into BAR, having known the English youngster since he was ten, the writing was very much on the wall. Villeneuve's reaction was to launch a 'war of words' which he now admits was futile, but the damage was already done, there was no place for the 1997 champion at Brackley under Richards.
The situation reached a climax when Villeneuve was dropped ahead of the season finale in Japan and replaced by Takuma Sato.
With no decent seats on offer, Villeneuve was forced to watch the 2004 season from the sidelines, though he was rarely out of the headlines, constantly linked with 'secret tests', secret seat fittings, and various other rumours thought up by the media.
However, the Canadian never gave up on a return to F1, and when the opportunity arose he took it with both hands, signing two deals within 24-hours, one to test, and ultimately drive the last three races for Renault, the other to join Sauber for 2005.
"Even working with him as closely as I work with him, I've got much more pleasure working with him this year than I've had since 1997," admitted Pollock. "He is a pleasure to work with at the moment. He's just a happy character, he's happy to be here and it makes it easier for the team.
"All he wants to do is race," added the Scot. "He's been accused over the years of doing it for the money. It's not money. He wants to get out there and he's in it for the race. I think he's really happy to have the Sauber contract. Sauber's a big thing for him and he sees that the Sauber team has made a decision, they want to step up the ranks and he wants to be the guy that's taking them there.
"He is somebody that needs to feel wanted, because he gives everything."
