Villeneuve Happy to be Back in the Points

Canadian Jacques Villeneuve was happy to be back in the points at today's Italian Grand Prix at the Monza circuit.

"I'm really pleased to finish sixth today and get three more Championship points for the team," said Villeneuve after the race. "The race was a great team effort and the guys did a fantastic job during the pitstops.

"We didn't qualify as well as we hoped yesterday but we were working for the race, so it was great to stay reliable and be able to make the most of a good race set-up. Let's hope we can build on that at Indianapolis in two weeks now."

It was only the second time this season that the former World Champion has finished in the points. His first points of the year came at the Brazilian Grand Prix in April, where he also finished in sixth place.

BAR teammate Jenson Button failed to finish the race, going out with a mechanical problem in his car.

"I got a really bad start then things went from bad to worse," said Button. "I lost second gear early in the race so I had to rely on first. I was doing quite well considering, and I managed to stay ahead of Frentzen and Panis, then I lost first, sixth and seventh in close succession.

"It's a real shame after such a positive qualifying performance because I felt that we could easily have achieved points finishes for both cars today."