Happy Villeneuve Enjoys 'Fun Race'

Jacques Villeneuve's sixth position at the United States Grand Prix allowed the British American Racing team to move to within only one point of a coveted sixth place in the Constructors' Championship.

The Brackley-based squad are now on seven points, tied with the Honda-powered Jordan team and only one behind Jaguar with only the Japanese Grand Prix left to run. Villeneuve, who had only scored points at the British Grand Prix back in July, was happy with the result.

"Every point is crucial and important," said the Canadian. "The car was competitive today, but there weren't many mechanical failures, just Ralf (Schumacher), who had a mishap with Juan Pablo (Montoya), so I'm happy we got a point here. It was a fun race.

"The car was working much better than I expected in the race. The tyres were actually getting better with the run. I was happy."

Frenchman Olivier Panis, who had started the race from 12th position, was unable to move up the field during the race and crossed the finish line one lap down in the same position he had started from.

"It was not a very good start and not a very good first corner with the traffic, but Jacques got one point, and that is good for the team," he said.