Villeneuve disappointed at home GP
Local hero Jacques Villeneuve was the first retirement from his home grand prix after his engine cut, leaving the BAR stranded on the back straight. During free practice and qualifying the team looked to have made a step forward following the introduction of its revised car, but any hopes Villeneuve had of scoring the team's first points of the year ended just eight laps into the 70-lap race
"Obviously I'm disappointed not to finish my home grand prix again," lamented the former world champion. " We were running heavy for a one-stop strategy so I lost places at the beginning. Then we had the first signs of a loss of oil pressure and a couple of laps later the engine stopped. It's frustrating to have such a bad race after the improvement we saw in qualifying."
Olivier Panis at least managed to get his car to the finish for the first time this season, but eighth place means the team remains the only one yet to trouble the scoresheets this year.
"It was very tough today but the car was reliable and I think we chose the right strategy for us," he said. "I was obviously running heavy at the start so I lost some places to some two-stoppers. It would have been nicer to get a point for the team but I'm pleased to see the progress we have made this weekend. We know where we are with the new car now so we have to keep pushing and continue to improve so we can get both cars to the finish."
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