British GP BAR race notes

Jacques Villeneuve
"It was a very tough race today. I had a good start but then I couldn't shift up and I lost the time I'd gained at the start. When we got to the first corner I hit the brakes hard, which locked the front wheels and I wasn't able to turn. Olivier was on the outside of me and when he turned I couldn't avoid him so we touched, which put him off. That lost him his race. Things like that happen at the start but it's not good for the team or Olivier so I feel very sorry about that. After that it was just a question of fighting until the end because the car wasn't the same after the coming together. As usual we were much better off in the race than in qualifying. Had we been able to qualify where we raced we could have done better today."

Olivier Panis
"What can I say? It's a real pity. Our car is always very good in race conditions and today I wasn't able to achieve anything for the team because my race was so short. What happened was a racing incident and I think we will now try and forget about it and concentrate on the next race at Hockenheim."

Malcolm Oastler
"We adopted a strategy that would give us an opportunity to overtake if we had the pace. We lost Olivier's car in the first corner in very unfortunate circumstances but Jacques was able to press on. He was unable to get round Alesi for quite a long time which put him out of contention for the top 6. Nonetheless, he put in a very solid drive but 8th was the best we could do. We're looking ahead now to testing in Monza and Valencia next week where we hope we will be able to improve our competitiveness ready for Hockenheim."

Craig Pollock, Team Principal and Managing Director
"A difficult home Grand Prix for the team today. We had an unfortunate incident after the start when Jacques touched Olivier. It was however a racing incident but I feel very sorry for Olivier and his crew. He was feeling good in the car this morning and I'm sure he could have done well today. Jacques drove very hard for the rest of the race and was able to finish 8th as a result. I have no doubt that Jacques and Olivier will talk things out between themselves then put it behind them to focus on the German Grand Prix."

-BAR