Australian GP: BAR Honda race notes

Jacques Villeneuve
"There was smoke everywhere after the crash at the beginning so it was just a question of trying to get through the mess. Then the rear wing broke off on my 27th lap, possibly because it was faulty or maybe it was something that we didn't pick up in testing. We're not sure why yet. It's frustrating to finish the race like that, especially after the hard work that everybody has put in over the weekend."

Olivier Panis
"I felt very positive going into the race. I made a good start and we had a good strategy. Then, in the first corner, the crash with Ralf Schumacher caused a few drivers to spin off, first of all Fisichella I think. I tried to avoid the other cars and was pushed on to the grass. It was wet so I hit somebody then stalled. I'm very disappointed because everyone worked very hard to improve the car after qualifying yesterday and I think we could have finished well today. It was not to be so we have to look forward to the next race now."

David Richards, Team Principal
"Today has been a real missed opportunity. After the elimination of half the field we had something to play for. The end result is in itself very disappointing, and even prior to his retirement we did not do a good enough job on Jacques' car. It clearly crystallises in my mind just how much work there is to do in the team."

Malcolm Oastler, Engineering Director
"Unfortunately for Olivier, he never made it past the first corner. After that, we decided to roll the dice a little with Jacques' strategy but we never got to see how that would have worked out because the rear wing broke off. We won't know why until we get the bits back and have a look at what caused the problem."

Chassis
Jacques Villeneuve - BAR004/03
Olivier Panis - BAR004/04
T-Car - BAR004/02

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