Pollock's disappointment at BAR form

The BARs have been quick on several occasions but have rarely finished the races. Along with Minardi, they are the only team who have not yet scored a point in 1999.

'On paper, it probably doesn't look as if we've done too badly,' Pollock said. 'But by our standards, we're not at the level we want to be.

'That said, you have to look back and see what has been accomplished in an incredibly short space of time. We can say that we have made considerable progress in the area of reliability. We are now confident that we have cars that can get to the finish.'

Lead driver Jacques Villeneuve is also frustrated by the lack of results.

He said: 'I knew it was going to be a difficult start for a new team, but I did think we would have achieved some better results by now.

'It is easy for people to forget that we are a first-year team and that we are quicker than first-year teams have ever been. If you look at it that way, the situation doesn't look that bad for a newcomer team, but we are way below our own expectations, and that's why it is frustrating.'