Villeneuve Happy with 2001 BAR

Jacques Villeneuve is optimistic that British American Racing's new 003 car will keep getting better as he continues testing at the Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona.

Both Villeneuve and team-mate Olivier Panis are testing in Spain, with Villeneuve in the new BAR003 car and Panis in last year's BAR002.

"The test has gone very well," said Villeneuve. "The car is still heavy to drive at the moment, but we have been able to make progress. We seem to be getting better and better, so that's encouraging."

BAR's chief engineer Steve Farrell, meanwhile, has explained why it has taken time for the drivers to get to grips with the new car.

"We've made steady progress on the new car and we are really getting to grips with it's character," said Farrell. "It's a different beast to the 2000 car so it has taken us more time to understand it.

"With the good reliability we have had lots of track time and have done a massive amount of set-up work."