Monday March 11th, 2002

Canadian Jacques Villeneuve is aiming for his first points of the season at the Malaysian Grand Prix next weekend, the second round of the 2002 Championship.

1997 World Champion Villeneuve and his British American Racing team haven't scored a point since the Italian Grand Prix last season, and after a disappointing start in Australia the Canadian is confident they will be able to challenge for points at Sepang.

"I'm looking forward to racing in Malaysia," said Villeneuve. "It's a challenging race and the hot atmospheric conditions make it physically demanding. Like the Melbourne track, it is a long lap, which I enjoy. There are a couple of very long straights with tight corners.

"Our car should be fairly competitive. I'm disappointed that we didn't finish the race in Melbourne as we could easily have been in the points there. We have all the right elements in place to fight for points finishes, we just need to raise our game."

Villeneuve qualified in 13th place at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, but crashed out of the race when the rear wing detached from his Honda-powered BAR.

Published at 12:31:11 GMT