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Thank the Lord for Jacques Villeneuve. BAR-Honda boss David Richards might be bidding down his mega-buck salary for 2003, but he's worth his weight in gold as one of the few drivers bold enough to speak their mind without fear of censure by their own marketing guardians.
Villeneuve knows what it's like to be on the receiving end of one of Michael Schumacher's questionable moves. They clashed controversially in the GP of Europe in Jerez back in 1997 when the German drove into him in a belated and fruitless attempt to prevent him winning that season's world crown.
The reigning champion had barely arrived in Monte Carlo on his quest for a record-matching sixth victory than Villeneuve began echoing the public sentiments about the Austrian victory that had chased Schumacher through Austria, Italy, Switzerland and all points west.
"It is very sad for everybody when you watch a race and see the result of the last race," he began, "mainly because it is so early in the season and there is no fair fight. Even if it was Ruben's race, at the end of the day it is Michael that won and that is what goes down in the book and that is what people remember, what is written in the book. That is what matters.
"The only thing I felt was unacceptable was the podium situation. If you win a race, even...