Panis Encouraged by Honda Performance

Olivier Panis is encouraged ahead of the final two races of the season after a strong performance that allowed him to score a point at today's Italian Grand Prix.

"I'm absolutely delighted to finish 6th today," admitted the Frenchman. "To get a point after starting 16th on the grid is fantastic for us. It was a tough race with plenty of action but I took the risk of a two-stop strategy and it worked for me."

The French driver, who next year will move to the Toyota team, benefitted from his aggressive two-stop strategy to gain ten places during the race, scoring points for the second time this year. Panis and teammate Jacques Villeneuve, who was ninth today, had finished fifth and fourth respectively at the British Grand Prix.

Panis was the best of the Honda runners today, in a race that boosted the Japanese manufacturer's spirits after a difficult Belgian Grand Prix, where they lost five engines. At Monza, all four Honda-powered cars make it to the end of the race.

Honda will introduce two more spec engine in the final two race of the year, and Panis is hoping they will allow him to shine.

"I'm really pleased for the team," he added. "Every point counts and it is a very important result for us at this stage of the season. I'm really looking forward to Indianapolis now. Honda will have more of the latest specification engine and, as we've seen, it looks very promising in terms of performance and reliability for the last two races."