OCTOBER 11, 2001

Pollock gets tough on team

JACQUES VILLENEUVE and the rest of the BAR team has apparently felt the wrath of Craig Pollock after a lamentable US Grand Prix, and as the works Honda-powered team arrives in Japan to race at Honda's Suzuka circuit.

"I had a meeting with Craig and he was very frank with his views - about me and about the team performance," said the 1997 world champion. "It was a very bad weekend and he was angry. A lot of frustration came out from both of us. We always spend a lot of time talking anyway but things have reached a critical point."

The BAR team struggled throughout the Indianapolis weekend, although it was Olivier Panis and not Villeneuve who put together the more convincing of the two performances. Villeneuve has since been stinging in his criticism, leading to a dressing down from his former ski instructor.

"The dream cannot be realized by isolated individuals; it will take team solidarity and resolve," said Pollock. "As far as Jacques is concerned, he has the power to motivate them and he has to learn to channel his frustrations in a more constructive way. Obviously, both drivers can only produce the results if we give them the tools for the job but as I've said, that's going to have to happen."