No breaks for Super Aguri

While most F1 teams went on holiday during the three-week break in August, the Super Aguri Formula 1 team worked flat-out to finish the latest developments to its SA06. Since introducing its new car at the German Grand Prix in July, the team has updated it at each subsequent race. In Hungary there was a new aero package (Takuma Sato finished 13th, the team's best ever result) and in Turkey last weekend there was some new front suspension.

The zero-keel layout of the suspension had one aim: to maximise the performance of the latest Bridgestone tyres. Computer simulations at the team's Leafield factory suggested that there would be big gains in performance, but it was to be a baptism of fire; the undulating Istanbul Park circuit was one of the hardest tracks on which to test the system for the first time.

"It would have been nice to try out the system before going to Istanbul," said Mark Preston, the team's chief technical officer. "But the summer testing ban didn’t allow us to do that, so we just had to get on with it at a track that we'd never seen."

For the first time this year, the team ran three SA06 cars during practice on Friday. The third car, which was driven by Franck Montagny, was finished overnight on Thursday, and between Montagny and race drivers Sato and Sakon Yamamoto, the team completed a total of 82 laps in the two one-hour practice sessions.

In the afternoon, Montagny set a time of 1:30.491s, which placed him 16th fastest and ahead of all three Bridgestone-shod Williamses. The omens were good, and the usually reticent Aguri Suzuki claimed that he was "very happy".

The team's engineers studied the data overnight on Friday before making more progress during Saturday morning practice. But that was as good as the weekend got. Come qualifying, high track temperatures (46 degrees) played havoc with the balance of the car and neither Sato nor Yamamoto went as quickly as they had done in the morning's practice session.

"The car is showing potential, but we have not had enough time to set up the car," said Suzuki on Saturday evening.

In the race, Sato overtook several cars away from the line, but he was then taken out in the first corner melee. He limped back to the pits, where the mechanics repaired his car and he rejoined the race 16 laps down, in order to learn more about the SA06.

Yamamoto survived the first corner unscathed and had progressed to 14th place by lap three, making this his most competitive F1 showing to date. But he then spun at Turn 1 on lap 23 and stalled his engine, which ended his race.

"It was not a good race for us today," said Suzuki, "but there are elements that can give us encouragement. Takuma collected some valuable data when he rejoined the race and Sakon gained valuable experience until he spun."

The team heads to Monza this week to continue testing the SA06 ahead of the Italian GP on 10 September. For F1's diminutive 11th team, there is no rest.