Villeneuve still praying for reliability

Jacques Villeneuve emerged 5th fastest at the end of this week's Formula One test at Silverstone, but still has little faith in the reliability of his BAR

Villeneuve had to abandon a planned race distance simulation after just 20 laps due to a hydraulic problem, while his Brazilian rookie team-mate Ricardo Zonta was slowest of all on the final day, only completing 11 laps before his car crawled back to the pits.

'We didn't do as much work as planned at this test, but the weather didn't help either,' said Villeneuve. 'Reliability is still an issue but the performance of the car has been very good, which fills me with confidence for qualifying at Spa.'

The 1997 World Champion has twice managed to qualify on row three of the car this season, but has yet to finish a single race.

On only three occasions has a healthy BAR made the finish: Mika Salo in Barcelona and Ricardo Zonta in France and Hungary. Salo was also classified as a finisher at Imola despite retiring on the final lap.

They are one of only two teams yet to score a point this season, Minardi being the other. Unreliability has not always been the problem however, both Villeneuve and Zonta have crashed out of races this year.