Briatore: To win Villeneuve I want to beat him.

Benetton boss Flavio Briatore has not given up hope of signing Jacques Villeneuve to his Renault-owned outfit, but admits that he will have to beat the Canadian on the track next year to do so.

Villeneuve last week opted to stay at British American Racing for another three years, eschewing the chance to sign with what could be one of the sport's powerhouses following the return of Renault in a works capacity. Although Briatore understood his target's reasons for re-signing, he admitted that he hoped he would have the chance to claim him through a get-out clause should Benetton prove better than BAR next season.

''It's better that things went like this,'' the flamboyant Italian told Motoring News over the German GP weekend, ''I'm not sure that my team in 2001 will be ready for a driver like Villeneuve, but I hope that I can make him unhappy next year.

Villeneuve admitted in a Hockenheim press conference that his choice between BAR and Benetton had been a tough one, before revealing that he had decided to stick with what he knew instead of opting for what had been promised to him.

''The biggest difference is that I have been working hard on [the BAR] project, and it is going to be nice to see it through to the end,'' he said, ''It's getting better and I know where I stand here.

''Changing teams would be going again on a promise, which can be great, but who really knows? In this case, it was a lot better to stay with the people you trust, where you know it's going to work. As far as winning is concerned, I think both teams could have been a valuable option, and I'm positive that this team [BAR] will do it.

''The gap is pretty big [at the moment] but, if you look at McLaren before they started winning, they were quite a way back and then suddenly made a big step. That can happen to any team, especially one that has the engineering and financial support, and this team has that. Now it has to do what McLaren did a few years ago.''

The Canadian looks set to be partnered by Olivier Panis in 2001, after Briatore revealed that the Frenchman was not in his plans. Benetton is likely to snap up Jenson Button if he is replaced at Williams although, ironically, the Briton remains the other name in the frame at BAR.