Spanish GP: BAR race notes

A points-finish eluded Lucky Strike B.A.R Honda once again today despite a competitive performance from both drivers. After a disappointing qualifying session yesterday, the cars were much improved in warm-up this morning and things were looking a little more promising. Both Jacques and Olivier gained momentum as the race progressed and the pitstops provided a further display of solid teamwork. Olivier^Òs run of bad luck continued though and his race was brought to an abrupt end by an exhaust failure after his second pitstop. Jacques finished just outside the points in 7th position.

Jacques Villeneuve

"The race went well for me today and we were more competitive than in qualifying. I was angry because Bernoldi put me on to the grass and then I lost a lot of time running behind him. I wasn't happy with the car at first but we made some aerodynamic changes during the pitstop and the car felt much better after that. By the time I started doing quick laps though I was too far behind. It hasn't been a very good weekend generally. Austria should be better for us than here but we still have a lot of work to do."

Olivier Panis

"I'm disappointed that we missed a big opportunity to score one or two points today but I'm very pleased with the team because they did a great job this weekend. I made a good start and the pitstop strategy and execution were brilliant. After the first stop I rejoined the race ahead of Frentzen and I was able to keep him behind me without difficulty before an exhaust failure ended my race. We seem to have reduced our reliability problems to a minimum but we still need to keep pushing to keep on top of them. When points opportunities come our way we need to be in a position to take advantage of them. I'm looking forward to testing in Estoril next week and to the next race in Austria as I'm hungry for a good result."

David Richards, Team Principal

"I feel like saying 'deja vu'. A lot of hard work, another 7th place and still no points. Despite all of this, morale is still extremely high and we will go to Austria with the same level of commitment and determination."

Driver/Chassis
Jacques Villeneuve
BAR004/06
Position: 7th
Best time: 1:22.827

Olivier Panis
BAR004/04
Position: DNF (43 laps)
Best time: 1:22.872
T-Car BAR004/03

Temperatures
Track: 21-22 C
Air: 19-20 C

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