Drivers to blame for BAR carnage

Both their race cars were destroyed when the drivers had separate accidents at the fearsome Eau Rouge corner.

Villeneuve hit the wall backwards after spinning on the exit of the corner, then rebounded off the tyres and rolled through the gravel.

Zonta lost control of his early slightly earlier in the corner but at a similarly high speed. His BAR dug into the gravel and somersaulted into the wall before rebounded across the track.

The car span crazily across the road shedding wheels and bodywork, but like his team-mate, Zonta was unhurt.

Villeneuve crashed on Friday when his suspension failed, but team boss Craig Pollock said that today's incidents were both driver errors.

'Both accidents happened so quickly that neither driver is able to say exactly what happened,' he said. 'We don't believe this was a (mechanical) failure and our telemetry did not suggest it was.

'However, we will be examining the cars very closely to try and determine the cause.'

Zonta was slightly baffled by his shunt, which was even more violent than his team-mate's.

'The accident happened very quickly and I really don't know why,' he admitted. 'I didn't feel any oversteer but then the back came round so quickly I had no chance to correct it.'

Villeneuve immediately took responsibility for his crash however.

'I was simply trying too hard and the car got away from me,' he said in his usual forthright manner.

'I was flat through Eau Rouge and when the rear started to go I just couldn't hold it.

'There was no mechanical failure but our cars are not easy to drive and they are quite nervous at the rear.'