Ex-Formula One world champion Jacques Villeneuve says he will quit the sport if he cannot get a competitive drive when his contract expires at the end of next season.

The Canadian currently drives for British American Racing and has not won a grand prix for five seasons.

A bad season in 2003 and I'll be staying at home the next Jacques Villeneuve

"Finding myself only with opportunities near the bottom of the grid doesn't interest me and I'll stop," the 31-year-old told Autosport.com.

"I will have to get an offer from a team at the front of the grid or one that's making big progress so that you can see it will be competitive the next year.

"But it's not a question of deciding where I want to go - if you win races, you'll get offers and if you don't, then you won't get much.

"A bad season in 2003 and I'll be staying at home the next."

Villeneuve has had just two top-three finishes since joining BAR in 1999 but he believes next season's car could be the best yet.

"There's a whole new group of technical people working on it and the numbers on the car look amazing, so we should make a big leap forward," he said.

"For once the expectations are high and basically realistic."

The car will unveiled in Barcelona on 14 January.