BAR takes advantage in fight for fifth

Jacques Villeneuve took a timely sixth place - just his second points scoring finish of the season - in the Italian Grand Prix to give BAR a slender advantage in the tight battle with Jaguar and Toyota for fifth in the Constructors' championship

Sep 14, 2003, 4:16 PM

Going into the race at Monza, BAR and Jaguar were tied for fifth, both with 15 points, with Toyota just one point further back. But Villeneuve's haul moves them into sole possession of the spot. Mark Webber finished seventh for Jaguar to keep the pressure on, but Toyota lost vital ground after failing to score.

"This is a very good result for Jacques and the team, which has allowed us to widen the gap to Toyota and keeps us in front of Jaguar in the fight for fifth place in the championship," said BAR technical director Geoff Willis. "We will continue to work hard for the last two races to consolidate our fifth place standing."

Villeneuve praised his pit crew for their efforts during the race. "I'm really pleased to finish sixth today and get three more championship points for the team," he said. "The race was a great team effort and the guys did a fantastic job during the pit-stops. Let's hope we can build on that at Indianapolis in two weeks now."