OCTOBER 17, 2003

Davidson moves up the ladder at BAR

There is no surprise at all in the announcement that Britain's Anthony Davidson will be British American Racing's third driver next season for Friday practice. Davidson has been with the team for several years now and with the departure of Jacques Villeneuve moves to third in the list of drivers, behind Jenson Button and Takuma Sato.

Davidson is 24 and has been a BAR test driver since 2000 when he was signed while still in Formula Ford. He was beaten to the British Formula 3 title in 2001 by Takuma Sato but made his F1 debut in 2002 with Minardi, taking part in two races with Minardi, standing in for Alex Yoong. This year he has remained with BAR although for a time was also linked to Jaguar Racing as an unofficial reserve driver.