Yamamoto's first Silverstone outing
Super Aguri F1 driver Sakon Yamamoto had his first experience of Silverstone's circuit this weekend in the team's Bridgestone-shod third car. The Japanese driver was slowest in both one-hour sessions on the Friday before the Grand Prix, but he improved his lap time by 1.7s during session two to act as a good support to regular drivers Takuma Sato and Franck Montagny. His fastest lap was just 1.7s slower than Montagny.
“It was fun,” said Sakon. “I think I got a good feeling for the car and was able to keep consistent runs in both sessions. The car was a little bit hard to control – which was not helped by the wind – but I enjoyed the day very much. I learnt a lot and I’m looking forward to the next GP.”
This outing was not Yamamoto’s first experience of Formula 1 power. He drove the Jordan third car at Suzuka last year, and he will continue in his current role for Super Aguri for at least the next couple of races. He will drive the team’s third car in Canada on 23 June and at Indianapolis on 30 June.
