Richards: Radical Changes Needed at BAR

British American Racing boss David Richards has said that radical changes will be needed this season if the Brackley-based squad want to achieve their goals.

Both Jacques Villeneuve and teammate Olivier Panis have struggled to be competitive so far this year, and the Canadian driver has already admitted that he would leave the team unless there is a significant improvement in power and performance by engine suppliers Honda.

Villeneuve finished in eighth place, one lap down, at Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix while Panis retired on lap ten, and Richard said the team have a mountain to climb this year.

"Both drivers and all the team put in an enormous effort over the weekend, but our problems were there for everyone to see," said Richard. "Despite the fact that Jacques finished 8th, we very clearly have an enormous mountain to climb and we won't achieve our goals without some radical changes."

Richards joined British American Racing at the end of last year, replacing Craig Pollock.