BAR 003 ‘launch’: Panis will push Villeneuve

The Scottish-born Canadian national, who also manages Villeneuve, believes the Frenchman is the right partner to keep Jacques on his toes.

"Panis to push Villeneuve? Of course he will!" exclaimed Pollock. "I hope he really puts the wind up Jacques. It's good for the team to have such competitiveness between drivers."

Panis arrives from McLaren where, in his role as test driver, he produced consistently quick lap times compared to race team drivers Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard. He also won the 1996 Monaco GP for Ligier, but his career was blighted by a huge crash in the '97 Canadian Grand Prix which broke both his legs. He says he is not scared by former World Champion Villeneuve's reputation as a hard team-mate to get along with.

"I know Jacques well, we communicate together and respect each other," he said. "I am looking forward to working with him. I always want to work with quick drivers. I am very pleased with what I have found here. It has gone really well so far and that leaves me very confident for the season ahead."

Behind the scenes, James Robinson has joined the team as chief race engineer from Williams, reuniting him with Jock Clear and Grant Tuff, who also worked for the Grove-based outfit in Villeneuve's title year.

"There is no doubt that the addition of Olivier and James strengthens our hand and gives us an extra bit of quality," added Pollock. "Also, the fact that we had several applications from other teams during the winter shows that people inside the sport appreciate what we are trying to achieve here."