We've Got the Best Driver Line-Up in F1 - Pollock

After the arrival of former McLaren tester Olivier Panis to join Jacques Villeneuve as a driver at British American Racing, managing director Craig Pollock has backed the pair to deliver race wins.

Speaking at the team's launch of their new 003 car in London, Pollock heaped praise on Villeneuve and Panis.

"This year is a question of improving on last year but nobody knows how far we can go because we haven't seen any of the other teams yet," Pollock said.

"Olivier Panis will push Jacques tremendously and the harder he pushes the better Jacques will get and I feel we've got the best driver line-up, probably the best in F1.

"We set goals in the first year and they were too much for us so we're not seeing too much this year. We want to improve and we need to be up there with McLaren and Ferrari this year."

Pollock backed Panis to go close to repeating the best moment of the Frenchman's career, when he claimed victory at the Monaco Grand Prix in 1996 for Ligier.

He said: "Olivier won Monaco in car number nine so we hope he can do it again this year."

The South African also dismissed suggestions that internal wranglings dominanted the team last season, and said that all the BAR staff were pulling in the same direction to make the team successful.

"If you listen to the reports that were happening last year, I was fired 10 times," Pollock said. "There was talk of boardroom battles but there was never anything in it. All we were doing was focusing on doing a good job."