Austria just the start for Button

Jenson Button believes his fourth place finish at the Austrian Grand Prix is just the start of better things to come for himself and BAR. Button qualified seventh on the grid at the A1-Ring and equaled his best F1 finish with the fourth place. A big improvement for BAR, only beaten by the two Ferraris and the McLaren of Kimi Raikkonen.

"It's fantastic, it's great to get a fourth position," said Button. "It's just a little bit annoying that we didn't get it beforehand because we deserved it. I was very excited to start from seventh on the grid but I couldn't talk it up too much after qualifying because I had an idea of what our strategy was."

"We're not on the pace of the Ferrari or a McLaren I don't think, but this is the first race that we've really been able to show our pace in the race. We've just got to keep it going and be consistent and I can't see why we can't repeat this. I think we did it through merit this race, not through people falling off, and that's the exciting thing. I think this is just the start."

The Englishman joined BAR for 2003 after a stint with Renault, where he was replaced by rising Spanish star Fernando Alonso. BAR teammate Jacques Villeneuve was also in a strong position at the A1-Ring until an electronic problem with his steering system caused him lost time in a pit stop.

Team boss David Richards, although commiserating with Villeneuve's bad luck, is as optimistic as Button that things are looking up: "A great race from Jenson and a result gained through performance rather than attrition, as both drivers challenged the leading group throughout the race," he said. "I'm sure that this will act as a strong morale- booster at a point where the season really starts to get underway."

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