As expected 1997 Formula One World Champion Jacques Villeneuve has formally announced that he will be driving for British American Racing from 1999.

Craig Pollock, BAR's managing director, said "Jacques' presence in our team will go a long way towards our goal of being competitive in the shortest time possible. Experience, talent and image were the items that counted in our analysis of each driver reviewed. Last, and definitely not least, the driver's character and image were assessed."

Villeneuve and Pollock have a relationship stretching back to the 80's when the driver was a student of Pollock at a school in Switzerland. Since Villeneuve started driving the older Canadian has acted as his manager.

Villeneuve said "I have told every journalist who covers Formula One racing in recent weeks that I would go with a team that would allow me to compete at the front of the grid."

This indicates that flying in the face of their usual practice, Williams will have two new drivers for 1999 (currently expected to be Alex Zanardi and Juan-Pablo Montoya).