Sunday March 12th, 2000

By Julian Linden

The British American Racing team's disastrous debut season in Formula One racing was quickly forgotten on Sunday when both team drivers finished in the points at the Australian Grand Prix.

BAR were the only team in the Formula One champinship to fail to score a single point in 1999 but made up for their past disappointments on Sunday.

Canadian Jacques Villeneuve secured the team's first ever championship points when he finished fourth behind Ferrari pair Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello and Williams' Ralf Schumacher, missing a place on the podium by less than a second.

It became a double celebration when Villeneuve's Brazilian team mate Ricardo Zonta crossed the line seventh but was promoted to sixth position, earning another point for the team, when Mika Salo was disqualified for a technical infringement on his Sauber.

"To be the only team other than Ferrari to get both cars to the finish is a wonderful result," BAR managing director Craig Pollock said.

"To get points on the board early this season is just great."

Villeneuve, who won the 1997 world championship for Williams, was full of praise for his car and the performance of the BAR team.

"It feels great. I knew we would be able to score points today," Villeneuve said.

"After the struggle of last year, it is good to finally achieve this."

The 28-year-old briefly held second spot in the second half of the race but moved back to fifth after refuelling and could only improve one more place.

"I had hoped we could get onto the podium but Ralf passed me in the pits, although I didn't really think the Williams would last the distance," Villeneuve said.

"But this is a great start to the season and gives us something to build on."

Honda, who re-entered this year's Formula One championship after agreeing to supply BAR with factory engines, were also toasting their successful comeback to the sport.

"In Japan, we have a saying that sometimes when you go fishing for the first time you catch a fish while other more experienced fisherman do not," Honda racing director Takefumi Hosaka said.

"Now we are going to take the team for the drink. We may find that we have a high consumption level but we will certainly last the distance."