Team chief says BAR can take on top teams

TEAM chief David Richards is convinced BAR can challenge the top three teams next season as long as they get their reliability record sorted out.

The Honda-powered outfit snatched fifth place in the constructors' championship last season after Jenson Button finished fourth and Takuma Sato took sixth spot in the final race in Japan.

Richards is confident BAR can make further progress when the 2004 campaign gets underway next March, with Button joined full-time by Sato, who has replaced former world champion Jacques Villeneuve.