New hope for Villeneuve

Jacques Villeneuve believes his new BAR car - put through its paces in Barcelona this week - will offer him a realistic chance of success in Formula One this year.

The volatile Canadian driver, who has restated his commitment to British American Racing despite the turmoil caused by the resignation of chief and lifelong friend Craig Pollock, said yesterday: 'First impressions are so important and I am much more positive about the car than I was a year ago. It is better mechanically and has more power.

'There is still a lot more improvement to be made before the season starts, but if it all comes together we can be in with podium chances this year.'

All the top teams are in Barcelona this week for the first major test session of the year, but only BAR and Jaguar are using their new cars. David Coulthard was top of yesterday's session in an interim McLaren-Mercedes.