INDIANAPOLIS -- Two Indianapolis 500 winners and former CART champions are racing in this weekend's U.S. Grand Prix. One of them is in high demand in the Formula One world. The other is looking for work next year.

Juan Pablo Montoya, winner of the 2000 Indy 500 and the 1999 CART championship, is currently locked in a three-way championship battle with Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen. Montoya has a contract with Williams BMW through 2004, and team owner Frank Williams says that no amount of money would entice the team to release Montoya early. Rumor has it that Montoya, a two-time winner this year, has already signed a lucrative contract with West McLaren Mercedes for 2005.

Jacques Villeneuve, winner of the 1995 Indy 500 and CART championship and a past F1 champion, has only two points finishes this year (a pair of sixths) in his Lucky Strike BAR Honda. Rumors and stories -- some factual and some not so factual -- saying that Villeneuve is persona non grata at the team have been circulating for two full seasons.

Villeneuve has always spoken his mind and done things his way. He may have toned down his more provocative statements in recent years, but he's still not and never has been one of those plastic drivers too scared to say anything controversial.

One of Villeneuve's traits is that he doesn't pretend to be a friend. He does his work within the team and with the media and sponsors but doesn't socialize like most drivers do. To pretend to be great buddies with people, and then basically forget about them when you change teams, is not Villeneuve's way. It's false, he says. And, to his credit, he has stuck to his ways.

"A driver should concentrate exclusively on his own work -- driving," he said in a recent interview with F1 Racing magazine. "People often say that I don't go around shaking people's hands enough, that I'm not involved enough. But what I am sure of is that when I get my butt into the car, I give it my all knowing that my mechanics have spared no effort. This is how mutual respect comes about. But there's no need to be the best friends in the world."

It's his direct, uncompromising attitude that can make Villeneuve seem so abrasive. Is he any different from the average F1 driver?

First of all, to be a successful race car driver, you have to put yourself first. Second, every F1 driver has his own personality, or at least the one we see at the track. Rubens Barrichello is very friendly; Montoya is laid-back; Olivier Panis is extremely polite; Fernando Alonso is shy.

Underneath these exteriors, however, all these guys are ruthless racers on the track.

	Villeneuve, left, and Montoya might be moving in opposite directions.

Panis, who was Villeneuve's teammate at BAR for two seasons, and Jenson Button, who is his partner this year, both have more outgoing personalities than Villeneuve and have gotten along well with the crew members.

Villeneuve says it like he sees it, and that isn't always the most popular approach.

"The thing is," Villeneuve said, "if there is something I don't like, I'll say I don't like it. People prefer sometimes to be kissed and then even though it's not the truth, it makes them feel good. But at the same time it earned me respect, so there's two sides to the coin, that's all. It will be used negatively if people don't want to work with me, but the other hand is also true. There's never been a complaint about how much I work; when I do something that's been prepared and organized I do it as good as I can, in a positive way."

From my own experience, I can say that Villeneuve has always been 100 percent professional and polite but never a "pal" with me. In each of Villeneuve's 130 grand prix weekends, with the exception of one, I've talked to Villeneuve at least once, and usually two or three times. He's never failed to give a direct answer to a question. (For example, see his answer to my question above when I asked if he has ever compromised his standards.) On the other hand, a bond between us has never developed as it sometimes will between various drivers and members of the media.

There have been a lot of rumors and stories going around about Villeneuve recently, and I asked him about those at a news conference here in Indianapolis. One of the stories going around about Villeneuve is that his attitude doesn't fit that of the team. He always says he gives 100 percent, so how does he answer the critics that say he doesn't fit in with the way his team works?

"Rumors are created to make people believe things," he said. "I've never worked as hard as the last couple of years. And also I've never had as little fun in racing as in the last two years. But my work ethics have been very good. If you ask anybody I work with, then you'll hear the real truth about that."

The latest rumors, now denied by the team, have BAR test driver Takuma Sato replacing Villeneuve in the Japanese Grand Prix.

"Rumors are powerful," Villeneuve said, "and sometimes they're rumors because people get bored and they hear something that a friend told them and so on. Sometimes they're created on purpose to push people in some direction or other. I don't really see much what is going on, but I'm being told most of the time what happens. But (it's) a lot of entertainment."

The rumors can't be ignored, though.

	“	My work ethics have been very good. If you ask anybody I work with, then you'll hear the real truth about that. ”
		— Jacques Villeneuve

"The media doesn't ignore them, the fans don't ignore them, the sponsors don't ignore them, the people who sign your contract don't ignore them, so you can't afford to ignore them yourself," Villeneuve said. "You need to know what's going on."

There's no doubt that Villeneuve -- or anyone, for that matter -- can get away with being controversial or abrasive or arrogant when they are winning. Villeneuve hasn't changed since he joined F1 in 1996. His way of working, however, can certainly draw criticism now that he's not winning as he did early on.

Some F1 observers believe that if given a competitive car, Villeneuve could go toe-to-toe with Michael Schumacher again, just as they did in 1997 when Villeneuve won the title. But, as Villeneuve and teammate Button point out, every driver believes that he could win with a good car.

Villeneuve hasn't won since 1997. Does he think he's driving better than ever?

"Yes," he said, "but it's not really showing because there wasn't many results this year, but I've never questioned that: Experience has helped my driving. I'm not worried about that, but you need the car to be there at the end if you want to do something good.

"Even though the results have not been very good, there's been a couple of podiums, there's been a feel of achievement and we had a good time doing it all. And we were all working in the same direction, so it was worth it. It's just the last couple of years that have been highly unenjoyable."

Villeneuve's prospects for an F1 ride in 2004 are bleak. Montoya, on the other hand, is still riding high.

Dan Knutson covers Formula One for National Speed Sport News and ESPN.com.