Ex-Formula One Champion Jacques Villeneuve has his sights on an F1 return after his Armor All Gold Coast 600 campaign on October 22-24.

The Canadian racing great, who will partner Paul Dumbrell in The Bottle-O Racing Team Falcon at the Gold Coast event this October, has announced his plans to enter the 2011 Formula One Championship as a team owner.

Villeneuve has joined forces with existing Italian motorsport team Durango, who has contested several Formula One feeder categories, and announced his intention to field a team on the 2011 Formula One grid.

“I've never made it a secret that I'm looking at a future F1 programme, and have been working hard on that for the past 12 months,” said Villeneuve.

“There are a number of rumours circulating at the moment and I wanted to clarify a few things before this gets out of hand.

“The team will be a joint venture with Durango, and based out of Italy. To be clear, right now all the money comes from corporate sponsorship, and not from personal investors.

"I'd like to thank my fans for the continued support they give to me - as always, it is greatly appreciated."

With the Armor All Gold Coast 600 looming along with his on-going NASCAR commitments in the United States, Villeneuve mentioned on his official website that he isn’t letting his F1 future get in the way of his up-coming on-track schedule.

Villeneuve will now aim to qualify for the infamous Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend in the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Then later in the year, Villeneuve will partner Paul Dumbrell in the #55 The Bottle-O Racing Team Ford FG Falcon in the Armor All Gold Coast 600, October 22-24.

All of the international drivers for the Armor All Gold Coast 600 are set to arrive on the Gold Coast on the Sunday before the event and will be involved in a week of activity, including a full-day test at Queensland Raceway on Wednesday, October 20.

The Armor All Gold Coast 600 will include two 300km races on Saturday and Sunday of the event, with the international drivers required to complete a minimum of 30% of each of the races.

Tickets are now on sale for the Armor All Gold Coast 600, with Friday admission tickets starting from just $49 and three day passes from just $136, with each ticket providing admission to not only the day’s racing but also the same night’s entertainment line-up at 600 Sounds. Visit ticketek.com.au or call 132 849 for more information or to purchase.

International Drivers

Please see below for a full list of the 18 international drivers for the Armor All Gold Coast 600. For the two-car teams with one international driver, expect confirmation of which car the international will compete in following the Bathurst endurance event over October 7-10.

- Sebastien Bourdais – France – Dick Johnson Racing

- David Brabham – Australia – IRWIN Racing

- Ryan Briscoe – Australia – Toll Holden Racing Team

- Scott Dixon – NZ – Jack Daniel’s Racing

- Dario Franchitti – Scotland – Jim Beam Racing

- Heinz-Harald Frentzen – Germany – Wilson Security Racing

- Fabrizio Giovanardi – Italy – Brad Jones Racing

- Patrick Long – USA – Fujitsu Racing

- Alain Menu – Switzerland –Brad Jones Racing

- Tiago Monteiro – Portugal – Centaur Racing

- Gianni Morbidelli – Italy – Triple F Racing

- Yvan Muller – France – Paul Morris Motorsport

- Will Power – Australia – Ford Performance Racing

- Andy Priaulx – UK – TeamVodafone

- Scott Pruett – USA – Lucas Dumbrell Racing

- Mika Salo – Finland – Bundaberg Red Racing Team

- Alex Tagliani – Canada – Kelly Racing

- Jacques Villeneuve – Canada – The Bottle-O Racing Team