BAR chases more speed

Jenson Button revealed after the British Grand Prix at Silverstone over a week ago that the team had slipped back in recent races. It now faces the problem of a rejuvenated McLaren team whose new MP4-19B has shown impressive pace straight out of the block. Kimi Raikkonen's second place at Silverstone pushed Button down to fourth spot when a podium would otherwise have been in the offing.

"The crucial thing for us is to be seen not to have lost momentum and to carry that momentum into 2005," Willis told BBC Five Live. "Our long-term goal to be championship contenders depends on us making steady progress from season to season."

The team has been testing at Jerez this week and has featured near the top of the timesheets each day. Willis hopes to introduce a number of upgrades at next weekend's German Grand Prix that should see an improvement.

"It's really important we introduce a number of mechanical, aerodynamic and engine upgrades that we've got and get them working on a car as soon as possible," he said. "I'd like to have introduced them earlier but for a number of reasons we didn't feel we'd fully tested them."