Jacques Villeneuve may leave Formula One for the US-based NASCAR championship next year, the veteran racer said here Sunday ahead of the United States Grand Prix.

Villeneuve, 35, is pout of contract at the end of the season and BMW Sauber may opt to promote Polish test driver Robert Kubica to the race seat.

With no top teams seemingly interested in him either, the 1997 World Champion could leave the sport with his reputation intact and switch to NASCAR - second only to the NFL in popularity in America.

Villeneuve told the Red Bulletin: “Going to NASCAR might not be such a bad career move because it’s the most exciting race series in the US and it’s a very different discipline to F1. I would not consider it a step down. Would I consider a move to stock cars? I would. But I would have to consider my family too as we would have to move to the US.”

Villeneuve already has a proven record on oval tracks. He won both the Indy 500 and the Champ Car title in 1995 before switching to Formula One with Williams.

But he ruled out returning to Champ Car or making a move to the IRL IndyCar series any time soon - claiming both series were not up to his standards.

Villeneuve, an 11-times race winner, added: “As it stands now, CART and the IRL are looking tired. I would not consider a switch from F1 to either series a good career move. You only do that if you have no other choice, unless you do what Nigel Mansell did - win the F1 title, quit, and then take the Indy championship in your rookie year. That was amazing.”

[GMM]

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