BAR aim for the big time

Villeneuve and Panis pose with the new BAR

British American Racing believe they can this year establish themselves in 2001 as the best of the rest in Formula One behind McLaren and Ferrari.

The outfit held their official launch in London on Friday, promising as a minimum target to win their first Grand Prix this season and finish third in the constructors' championship.

The team have not been put off by the comments of its lead driver, Jacques Villeneuve, who claimed last week that the new car was "too slow".

Team boss Craig Pollock said: "Our aim in 2001 has to be at least a third place finish overall and to win some races.

Villeneuve has already criticised the new BAR

"With the team and infrastructure we now have in place, that is achievable and that is what I want.

"Last year no single facet of our car was really good or really bad but in order to compete with the likes of Ferrari and McLaren we must ensure that every aspect excels.

"In the BAR 03, we feel we have a car that can fulfil such high expectations."

Villeneuve said that third place overall was "the minimum acceptable for us to be happy.

"Hopefully, we will reach it because it will be a big weight for all of us to carry if we are not in the top three," he said.

A lot better

Villeneuve's opinion has since mellowed. He said on Friday: "It was too slow at the first test, the car wasn't completely finished so there were still bits missing and we were a little bit out to lunch with the mechanical set-up.

"We've improved it... and we've understood a few things.

"Olivier drove the car on Thursday in Barcelona and it was already a lot better. So I'm actually quite confident for the future."

BAR was fifth overall in 2000, a quantum leap forward from its debut year in 1999, when it finished last.

For two years I had a team mate who let me sleep, so it's good to have a team mate who wakes me up a bit

  Jacques Villeneuve

But the pressure is on this season as BAR go into the second year of their works engine contract with Honda.

The Japanese company now has a direct comparison for BAR, as Jordan will also be using its engine.

Takefumi Hosaka, Honda's F1 project leader, said he wanted victory soon.

He said the engine's reliability was improving and "now we can focus seriously on power.

"We want to see a BAR Honda driver in the middle of the podium. I will do everything to make this happen," he said.

Pollock believes that in Villeneuve and Frenchman Olivier Panis he has the best driver line-up in F1.

Jordan will be a direct comparison for BAR, as it has the same engine

Unexpectedly, Panis' car has been given the number nine, while Canadian Villeneuve, a former world champion and a close friend of Pollock, has number 10.

"Olivier won Monaco [in 1996 driving a Ligier] with number nine so we're out to win Monaco this year if we can," Pollock said.

Panis is returning to Formula One racing after a season as McLaren test driver following his departure from Prost.

"I think Olivier's going to push Jacques tremendously," said Pollock.

Villeneuve said he was looking forward to the increased competition with Panis, a barbed reference to Brazilian Ricardo Zonta, his team-mate in 1999 and 2000.

"For two years I had a team-mate who let me sleep, so it's good to have a team mate who wakes me up a bit," he said.

BAR technical director Malcolm Oastler accepted Villeneuve's criticisms of the car.

Crash

The Australian said the team had yet to unlock the potential of the new car because they had not fully understood some of its new developments.

He said the new car was some 30 kg lighter than last year's model.

The vehicle on show at the launch was a show car, after Villeneuve crashed his BAR in testing in Spain last week.

It is not unusual for F1 teams to present an incomplete car at their launches, as time is often too short for them to have a working model.