Monday January 24th, 2000

BMW Motorsport director Gerhard Berger said on Monday he was looking for midfield respectability in the manufacturer's first season back in Formula One with the once-dominant Williams team. "I think what we can see is a nice-looking Formula One car," the former Austrian driver said at the launch of the new FW22 car at the Barcelona circuit.

"Now our next goal is to have success with it and this is going to be a season full of learning for us.

"I know how hard it is to win races in Formula One and if we can end up in front of the midfield this season I think that will be a good achievement."

Berger had said earlier this month that the team aimed to win races by the end of the year or in the second year.

Team boss Frank Williams said he always wanted to win but Berger's midfield target might be more realistic.

"In the team, we dream of doing better but realistically speaking it's what we expect," he said.

The BMW-powered Williams has had problems recently in testing but officials said the main one had been solved.

Williams technical director Patrick Head said the new car "fits the same theme" as last year's car but "we've tried to improve the strength and eliminate the weaknesses".