JUNE 26, 2001
Panis confident of securing BAR future
OLIVIER PANIS is confident that he will stay at the British American Racing team next season as he said that he already has a new contract to look at.
Frenchman Panis, who will race at his home event this weekend, is delighted with his return to Formula One racing with BAR this season and hopes it will continue.
"I am very pleased to work with BAR but we need to wait a little to speak about the future but I am very confident for my future," said Panis.
"I have the contract but we need to wait and speak about it a bit more, but I have the contract.
"We have to wait a little for the future, but I'm quite close to fixing it with this team because it's a really good engine, we have a really good relationship with Jacques (Villeneuve), everything's fine I think. We don't need to change."
Panis, who joined BAR before this season after spending a year as McLaren's test-driver, is also excited by BAR's confirmed prolonged relationship with engine suppliers Honda and is looking forward to next year already.
He added: "I'm really happy for next year and I am also happy that Honda will make a completely new engine - a new evolution engine, I mean."