Villeneuve Admits to Pushing Too Hard

Canadian Jacques Villeneuve admitted he was too aggressive during his flying lap in today's qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix.

"A lot of people were trying too hard today and I was one of them," admitted the BAR driver. "The car felt amazing on old tyres this morning but we couldn't get the best out of new tyres this afternoon. I tried to compensate but I drove too aggressively and made a big mistake in turn one, which basically cost me the lap.

"This is a good track for overtaking and our grid position doesn't reflect our actual speed, so it should be a fun race. It's always a very interesting first lap here and the people who survive that end up having a fun race. I hope I'm one of them."

Villeneuve, who had set the fourth fastest time on Friday, finished down in 12th position following an error-filled lap that saw him finish more than half a second behind teammate Jenson Button.

The Briton wound up seventh quickest and did not rule out scoring his first podium in tomorrow's race.

"I'm quite satisfied with my lap because I had too much oversteer practically all the way round," he said. "It wasn't a very tidy lap because I was on the verge of being out of control. We've been struggling to find the right balance all weekend and qualifying showed we're not quite on top of that.

"Having said that, we've been very competitive so far, so I'm optimistic. Seventh on the grid gives us a lot of chances, and because there have been so many surprises today, a podium is not beyond the realms of possibility. Before I make any predictions though, I'd better wait and see what happens in the race."