Villeneuve goes from F1 track to album track

LONDON, June 20 (Reuters) Formula One driver Jacques Villeneuve is going from the racetrack to the album track with the launch of a debut single at his home Canadian Grand Prix.

The 1997 world champion has written and recorded an acoustic-rock album and the French Canadian single 'Accepterais-tu?' (Would you accept?) will be released in Montreal this week.

It will be available for download off the internet and a limited run of 5,000 copies will be on sale on the Monday after the race.

''I've always loved music. My grandfather was a piano tutor, my father played piano and trumpet and my sister is a musician as well,'' said Villeneuve, who drives for BMW, in an interview released by his management today.

''Music has always been in the family. I've been writing songs for many years, I've just never taken it to the next step until now.

''As soon as last season finished...when it wasn't yet announced that I was staying with the team, I had nothing else to do so I decided to go into the studio, get a few people together and see what it would sound like fully produced.'' Villeneuve, who plays the piano and acoustic guitar on the album and duets with his sister Melanie, wrote the lyrics to half the songs.

''Just after my father died, she had written a song about it that she had never managed to finish,'' he said of one track.

''So a few years ago she asked me to finish it, and when it was done I decided it would be great to record it, so we did it as a duet.'' Father Gilles, a crowd-pleasing Ferrari favourite, died in practice for the Belgian Grand Prix of 1982. He won his home Canadian race in 1978.

Villeneuve said racing remained his priority.

''There will be high criticism, of course, because I'm a race car driver, and anytime you do something that's not your job it pisses people off,'' the 35-year-old said.

''My job is still racing cars, my job is not music -- that's a hobby. As long as my job is still racing cars, I will concentrate on cars.'' REUTERS AY PM1802