Sauber need cash, says Villeneuve

FORMER world champion Jacques Villeneuve admits Sauber lack the budget to improve on their current standing.

The Swiss team are one of the few in Formula One without the backing of a major car manufacturer and, along with Minardi, one of only two without direct links to big business.

That has not stopped Peter Sauber’s outfit competing for points in recent seasons but this year has proved a struggle.

Despite building their own wind tunnel last year, Sauber find themselves down in seventh in the constructors’ championship after teething troubles with their new car.

They are seven points behind sixth-placed Red Bull and facing up to the prospect of dropping out of Formula One’s top six for the first time since 2000.

Villeneuve does not expect any significant improvement throughout the season, although he is full of praise for the way Sauber stretch their limited resources.