Panis Happy with 004's Performance

Frenchman Olivier Panis was pleased with the performance of the new British American Racing car after he completed the first day of testing on Monday at the Barcelona circuit.

Panis, who will start his second season with the Brackley-based team this year, was the only man working with a 2002-spec car today at Barcelona, while the other eight drivers present at the circuit worked with last year's or hybrid versions of their machines.

Panis completed 23 laps with the Honda-powered 004 and set the eighth quickest time of the day almost two seconds behind Brazilian Antonio Pizzonia, who set the pace with the Williams. But the BAR driver was encouraged by the test and admitted he was confident for the season ahead.

"I'm very happy with the work we've done here so far," said Panis. "We didn't do very many laps but I've got a very good feeling about the car. Everyone back at the factory has worked really hard during the winter so I think we've made a good step forward and I'm positive for this year.

"At the moment I'm taking it step by step but today I felt very confident after just a few laps,­ as a driver that's important. I really enjoyed driving the car."