Jacques Villeneuve has admitted that he is unlikely to return to Formula One after being replaced at BAR by Japan's Takuma Sato. Villeneuve left BAR under a cloud when he refused to drive at the Japanese Grand Prix following the announcement that his contract would not be renewed.
And the 1997 world champion said his chances of finding an F1 drive in the future were slim.
"Unless I can get a top car I am not sure I would consider it," he said.
"If there are no opportunities for 2004 then why should there be any in 2005?"
Villeneuve, 32, joined BAR from Williams in 1999 - and he feels bitter that someone else may benefit from the time and effort he put into the team.
He said: "If BAR start winning races next year it will annoy me. To see someone else reap the benefits will be hard, but that's life.
"I put more than five years into the team - I put my career into them."
Juan Pablo Montoya's decision to join McLaren in 2005 has left a vacancy at Williams, but Villeneuve does not believe he would be a target for his former team.
 |  I got a rubbish offer from BAR - it was insulting because there was no money involved |
"I don't think Williams will want me back," said Villeneuve, who has also been linked with a test role at McLaren.
Villeneuve believes his name was tarnished, and his chances of securing a drive in 2004 severely hampered, by suggestions that he was difficult to work with.
"Last year, someone in the paddock was trying to destroy everything I achieved, putting about that I was a pain to work with," he said.
"Everyone believed it. Even [Formula One chief] Bernie Ecclestone believed it because he was telling me I had to change.
"There was nothing I could do about it. It was out of my hands.
"I got a rubbish offer from BAR. It was insulting because there was no money involved. We went back with a counter offer but heard nothing.
"Everyone knew that Takuma would be in the car next year and if they had told me in May that I wouldn't be driving for them I would have respected it - but they didn't.
"I didn't race in Japan because why should I risk my life for someone like that?"
MMIX
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