Le Mans: The reason why Jacques Villeneuve is no longer with Peugeot

For many race fans, the unveiling of the Peugeot line-up for the endurance series last week was not welcomed news. Jacques Villeneuve and Ricardo Zonta, the former teammates at British American Racing F1 in 1999, would not be back this season.

Marc Gené and Jacques Villeneuve.

Villeneuve, the 1997 Formula 1 World Champion with Williams, apparently did a solid job at Peugeot last year in just two races. He captured victory at the Spa-Francorchamps 1000km race and finished second in the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans.

But there was no love affair between Villeneuve and the Peugeot management. And the fact that the Olivier Quesnel replaced Michel Barge at the head of Peugeot Sport may have aggravated things a bit.

Concerning the fact that the two drivers are not back, Olivier Quesnel had this to say to Auto123.com: "We decided to change our driver line-up after considering the problems we endured last season. Both Zonta and Villeneuve were not sufficiently present during the test sessions and the physical preparation camps. Since they were not available for this year we mutually decided to not resume our relationship."