BAR Fail to Materialise Qualifying Promise

British American Racing drivers Olivier Panis and Jacques Villeneuve failed to turn their most promising performance of the year into a point-scoring finish at Sunday's German Grand Prix.

Frenchman Panis, who had shone all weekend with the Honda-powered car, was unable to finish in the points due to an engine problem that forced him into retirement on lap 40 of the race. Teammate Villeneuve also succumbed to mechanical problems.

The Brackley-based squad, however, were encouraged by their performance throughout the weekend and team boss David Richards praised the improved Honda engine.

"This has been a weekend full of promise and it's a great shame that we were unable to bring it to a more successful conclusion," said Richards. "The indication from the outset was that we would be quite competitive here and, despite having to get to grips with a new circuit, we went on to achieve our best qualifying position of the season.

"We went into the race with great optimism that points were within our grasp and Olivier was running in sixth position at just over half distance when he suffered an engine problem. Equally, Jacques had just started to turn his race around when it was suddenly cut short.

"Nevertheless, we take great encouragement from the progress we have made this weekend, particularly the significant step forward we have seen with the Honda engine. The team can now enjoy a good break before the hard work starts again for Hungary."