Former Formula One world champion Jacques Villeneuve is coming out of retirement to compete in the Formula E championship next season.
The 44-year-old became the only Canadian to win an F1 title in 1997. The winner of 11 grands prix, he moved on to compete in the Le Mans 24 Hour and had a short spell in the American Nascar series. The son of the late Gilles Villeneuve, who also has an Indianapolis 500 success to his name, will drive alongside Frenchman Stephane Sarrazin for the Venturi team, replacing Nick Heidfeld.
“This is the first time in several years that I will participate in a full championship,” said Villeneuve, who tested for the team in France last week.
“It had been 10 years since I had driven on that kind of track with a single-seater, but it's like riding a bike, you never forget. Last season, each time I met drivers from Formula E they were saying it is a really interesting championship. I am excited because the atmosphere in the team is great and that has a very big influence.”
Formula E was conceived as a green alternative to Formula One, with battery powered cars driven by electric motors developed by McLaren (the same used in the P1 supercar). Generators used to charge batteries on race days run on Glycerine, a by-product of bio-diesel production. Its first championship which consisted of 11 rounds contested on street circuits in major cities around the world, and concluded in London in June, was won by Nelson Piquet Jr - another son of an F1 great, Nelson Sr.
Monaco-based Venturi finished ninth out of ten teams in the inaugural championship. Formula E's second season kicks off in China in October.