Italian GP BAR race notes

Jacques Villeneuve put in a blistering drive at Monza to score a valuable world championship point for BAR in Sunday's Italian Grand Prix.

A points finish looked to be a tall order after Saturday's qualifying session in which JV could only manage 15th quickest time.

But the French-Canadian stormed through the field despite starting with a heavy fuel load as the team went for a one-stop strategy.

By half-distance he had climbed into the top-six, a position he would hold to the end despite coming under pressure from Kimi Raikkonen in the closing stages.

"A happier end to a difficult weekend," said Jacques. "As predicted we were a lot better in the race than we were in qualifying. The team worked very hard yesterday and this morning and, somehow, the car was a lot quicker in race trim.

"We had a small problem with the fuel rig and we weren't able to put enough fuel in at the pit-stop. This meant we were a little low on fuel towards the end of the race so I couldn't really race De La Rosa. However, 6th place gives us a valuable point at this stage in the season."

JV's sixth place means that BAR have closed within three points of Sauber as they look to snatch fourth of the Swiss team in the constructors' standings.

Olivier Panis suffered a frustrating race after getting stuck behind Enrique Bernoldi's Arrows which held him up for many laps. He eventually came home ninth to complete a double finish for the team.

Oliver said: "I drove the T-car in the race because all weekend I haven't felt very happy with my racecar. I'm very pleased because I was really competitive today. When you start 17th on the grid it's very difficult to have the best possible race but we made the best of the situation.

"I'm sure I could have improved even more but Bernoldi made it difficult for me to get round him. Jacques' point was great for the team and after the way the car felt today I feel more positive about the last two races."