Villeneuve: The car was just too slow.

Jacques Villeneuve has admitted that his race pace was too slow to build on the fourth place he 'secured' in qualifying at the Australian Grand Prix, but has blamed his car rather than carrying the can himself.

Cynics opposed to his return to the F1 fray have pointed to three underwhelming performances for Renault at the end of 2004 as indicators that the 1997 world champion had lost his edge, and winter testing results did not always quell the doubts, particularly as Sauber team-mate Felipe Massa proved capable of turning in decent times in similar situations. When Villeneuve put the C24 fourth on the grid in Melbourne, however, his still large fanbase hoped that the opening round of 2005 would prove the naysayers wrong, despite the obvious influence of the weather in qualifying.

At the end of the first lap, things didn't look too good, for the Canadian had dropped to ninth after being muscled aside by Nick Heidfeld's Williams, a move which allowed a train of pursuers to take advantage. If that was disappointing, however, matters only got worse, as JV slipped further back by the end of the race, eventually being classified in 13th place. And, with Massa claiming tenth from the back of the grid - and running on a one-stop fuel load as opposed to Villeneuve's two-stop burden - questions are already being asked in Hinwil.

"I can't explain the difference, which is a big one," team boss Peter Sauber was quoted by Reuters, "Felipe, at the start and after the pit-stop, drove with a heavier car. We still have to analyse it. Villeneuve himself is not saying much at the moment. He had problems in certain phases of the race, but he hasn't revealed anything more than that."

Villeneuve eventually opened up in an exclusive interview with his personal website, in which he admitted that he had had a 'bad race'.

"I did not get any front grip in the first few laps and lost many positions," he explained, "After this, my car did not have enough downforce and I struggled to keep the pace with the rest of the field. I had soft tyres on and I think it clearly wasn't the right choice. The car was moving a lot and, after the first pit-stop, it was just too slow. It was a very bad race for me and I felt pretty bad for my fans and the people who are supporting me."

With Sauber opting to miss testing ahead of its 'home' race in Malaysia, there will be no chance for the Canadian to try and find a solution to his problems, which could be a problem at one of the circuits where grip is a high priority.

"The track has a good mix of slow-speed corners where traction is crucial, and high-speed sweeps that require high stability," technical director Willy Rampf confirmed, "So the challenge for the engineers is to find the right compromise. The surface has a medium grip level and is quite abrasive, which, together with the high track temperatures, adds up to the toughest test of the tyres. We may only use one set for qualifying and the race, so a careful choice from the two specifications will therefore be of particular importance on Friday."

Villeneuve remained in Australia after last Sunday's race, and will move to Malaysia this weekend in order to acclimatise to the heat and humidity of Kuala Lumpur and carry out the myriad promotional appearances expected of the team by sponsor Petronas.