Due to an "accident" in transit, Jacques Villeneuve, who finished eighth in last weekend's European Grand Prix, will require a new engine for this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix, which means the Canadian forfeits ten grid spots.

Speaking at Barcelona today, BMW team boss Mario Theissen told reporters that the "accident" happened on Sunday night when the powerplant was being prepared for transit.

"It was not dropped," he revealed, "but I won't tell you exactly what happened because I have to blame a team member. It was probably damaged and due to the regulations we are not allowed to open it to have a further investigation.

"Consequently, we thought the risk was too high to keep it in the car. He gets a fresh one and the Nurburgring one will go on to the dyno to complete the second race distance."

Although Jacques took one point away from the Nurburgring, one of his least favourite tracks, it was not the most enjoyable of weekends.

Firstly, the Canadian was one of the drivers to suffer when the FOM timing system erroneously warned of the qualifying session being red-flagged. At that time, the BMW had not made the cut. However, once the situation was under control and the times investigated, the former World Champion went through to the next round.

However, in the final round of qualifying, having posted the eighth fastest time of the session, the Canadian was demoted two grid spots following complaints from Giancarlo Fisichella who claimed that the BMW driver had hindered him on a fast lap.