Home star Villeneuve forced out

Local hero Jacques Villeneuve was forced to retire early from his home grand prix due to brake problems, while BAR team-mate Jenson Button also failed to make the finish due to gearbox woes

Villeneuve had been battling for the place in the top nine when he was forced to coast into the pits.

"Obviously it's very disappointing to face yet another retirement," he said. "I had a good start and I'd moved up to ninth. The car felt really good, it was well balanced and it's a shame because we could easily have picked up some points today. Gradually I started to lose my brakes and the pedal was getting longer and longer. I came in for my pitstop and the team tried to pinpoint the problem and cool the brakes. I went back out for a lap but I had to come in again because by that time I had nothing under braking."

"Sometimes only seven cars finish a race so the team tried to fix the problem. They started to replace the left rear caliper and stop the leak but it was clear that our race was over. I've had mechanical problems in six out of eight races so it's becoming very frustrating now but we just have to keep working hard. I've had a lot of support here this weekend and it would have been nice to at least finish in front of my home crowd."

Button added: "I had a problem with fourth gear. I was trying to short-shift but gradually I lost fifth then sixth then seventh. It's a very disappointing end to a difficult weekend for the team."