The race also saw the last appearance by 1997 champion Jacques Villeneuve, who blamed the split on the ``lack of assurances about his short-term future with BMW Sauber''. Robert Kubica was promoted internally at BMW to drive at the Hungaroring because Villeneuve was still recovering from the after-effects of his crash in Germany, and went on to race in all the remaining Grands Prix.
Robert Kubica
Villeneuve