A point for JV and BAR.

Lucky Strike BAR Honda finished in the points for the second successive race in Indianapolis yesterday where Jacques Villeneuve secured a crucial Championship point for the team.

He sensed a top-six finish was achievable from the off after a clash between the two Williams cars promoted him to sixth at the end of the opening lap.

JV remained consistent and aggressive throughout the 73-lap race with a performance that always looked worthy of a points finish.

"The team did a great job, as they have all weekend," commented Villeneuve. "We picked up a very important point and really made the best of things in the race. I had been quite worried about grip so the tyres really dictated a two-stop strategy."

"We made a few changes after warm-up this morning to try to counter any problems and the car actually worked well in the race. The track picked up grip but it was tough going for the first 6-10 laps after the pitstops. Once the fuel went down the tyres actually got better so it was easy to do some quick laps. We've been quite competitive here this weekend; I could drive the car aggressively and overtake. A good showing here means we should be better off in Suzuka so I'm optimistic about a good finish to the season."

Panis' weekend never really recovered from a difficult start and after a slow getaway from the grid, he made the best of the situation to finish 12th.

"Looking on the positive side I have to say 'Congratulations' to Jacques," noted Panis. "He drove a hard race to finish sixth and secured a very important point for the team."

"On the other hand, this has been a disappointing end to a difficult weekend for me. I had a very bad start and lost places into the first corner then had to follow slower cars until the first pitstop. We then suspected a mechanical problem and I couldn't really push as hard as I needed to, so I pitted early for my second stop."

"After that, we seemed to get over the problem and I could start pushing again but it was always going to be a struggle to recover. I have to put this weekend behind me now and hope for better things in Japan."

"It's been a very positive weekend all round with Jacques making the very best of the car and the team doing a great job for him," concluded Team Principal David Richards. "Unfortunately it was a different story for Olivier. He suffered from a series of problems on Friday and, although there were occasions where he was able to show his true pace, I'm sure it's a weekend he'd rather put behind him."

"One extra point moves us one place further forward in the Championship and with the continued improvements that Honda are making, I'm very hopeful of a strong finish to the season in Suzuka."