Villeneuve still looking for reliability

The problem has been exacerbated by the fact that the 004 is proving rapid and competitive, and in the hands of team-mate Jenson Button, finished fourth in Austria. Indeed the Briton was slower only than the Ferraris in first qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix and looked capable of another points finish before he crashed on Saturday morning.

"Although we have had a lot of reliability issues at most of the past races of this season," said Villeneuve, "I am looking forward to the race in Montreal. Hopefully we will have a more positive weekend compared to the ones we have already had. We worked on the new engine for Montreal at our test in Monza (last week). The car looks good in low downforce trim, so we should be competitive in Canada."

BAR-Honda team principal David Richards agrees: "I hope Jacques' luck will finally change so he can have a good race in front of his home crowd.

"The Montreal circuit is tough on the cars as you are either hard on the throttle or hard on the brakes throughout the lap. There is a fairly high attrition rate and strategy will be key here as the safety car makes regular appearances at this race. We're confident that the work we have done in testing this week, particularly with the latest specification of Honda engine, will stand us in good stead for Canada."