By Phil Huff (29/06/2003)
June 29 2003

Today's European Grand Prix saw the culmination of another weekend of mixed emotions for the Lucky Strike BAR Honda team. Jenson Button drove a solid race to finish seventh, securing two much-welcomed Championship points for the team. Jacques Villeneuve made a bad start which relegated him from 17th to 19th and set the tone for another problematic race. Eight laps in, whilst passing Verstappen, he put a wheel off the track at the chicane, lost control of his BAR Honda 005 and spun off. He was able to keep the engine running and rejoin the race but lost two places in the process. He was eventually forced to retire just six laps from the chequered flag after a second-gear failure.

Jenson Button said "I'm very happy to finish where we did because we weren't really on the pace at all today. The start was poor and there must have been a 30-metre gap between me and the guys in front, but I caught up at the first corner and managed to get past Webber in the process. I was really struggling with oversteer and I had to take it really easy on the first couple of stints to conserve the tyres, otherwise it would just have been oversteer all the way. It's been a tough old weekend here so I'm pleased we were able to get a couple of points into the bargain because the boys deserve a bit of a boost. Their work in the pits today was incredible with Jacques and I in on the same lap. I hope we can all expect something more in Magny-Cours next weekend."

Jacques Villeneuve added "I'm pleased to see the end of a very bad weekend. Once we got going the pace wasn't too bad, but it was hard to be stuck behind the Minardis. I made a couple of mistakes as well and I was lucky to recover from my spin in the chicane. Just as it looked as if I was at least going to be able to finish the race, second gear broke and it was over. I guess we just have to hope for a better weekend in Magny-Cours now."

David Richards, Team Principal commented "Jenson drove a faultless race, although we have to accept that our final position was achieved through attrition rather than pure performance this weekend. Having said that, the increased reliability and performance provided by Honda is has made a significant contribution. Nonetheless two points are two points and we now move into a clear fifth place in the Championship. Jacques' race was very disappointing with an early spin, a pitstop requiring a new nose, then ending with a transmission failure which we now have to get to the bottom of. With only one week before France and the summer testing ban looming on the horizon, there's not going to be much rest for our team over the next three weeks leading up to the British Grand Prix."

Geoffrey Willis, Technical Director said "This has been a difficult weekend for the team so it is very good to finish with two more points. Jenson drove a solid race, particularly resisting the pressure of those behind him during the middle stint of the race. A great deal of credit must go to the pit crew today; they did an excellent job to change Jacques' nose in record time and get him out before Jenson came in on a scheduled stop just 10 seconds later. Jacques had a fairly dismal race; he started poorly and dropped to 19th, then had to fight his way past the Minardis. A subsequent mistake at the chicane saw him damage the front wing and finally his race came to an early conclusion with a second-gear failure, the cause of which will now be investigated."

Shuhei Nakamoto, Engineering Director at Honda Racing Development added "Jenson drove a good race and I'm pleased the team is back to points-scoring form. We're encouraged by the overall performance of our engine this weekend and look forward to being fully able to demonstrate its capacity at Magny-Cours. Jacques obviously had a hard day. I hope he'll be back refreshed in France next weekend."