Damaged radiator for Davidson as Sato finishes 13th
SUPER AGURI F1 TEAM experienced mixed fortunes at the 2008 Spanish Grand Prix today. Takuma Sato took the chequered flag in 13th position, the team’s highest placing of the season to date, whilst Anthony Davidson was forced to retire his SA08A in the opening stages of the race due to an overheating issue resulting from a pierced water radiator.
Takuma Sato: “It was a hard race, but I enjoyed it. The start was reasonably good and I overtook a few cars. Ahead of me a few cars had a coming together and I could not avoid them and lost part of the nose, which then obviously affected my aero balance. The team said that the car looked okay, so we just fought our way through the rest of the race. At one stage we were up in the middle, running as high as ninth, and that was a fantastic feeling. The boys did a great job under difficult circumstances this weekend. I am very happy for them and all the people who are supporting us and I just hope that we can keep this momentum going.”
Anthony Davidson: “It was a disappointing end to the weekend for me. After Piquet ran wide at the beginning of the race he dragged a lot of gravel on to the track and a stone from that then damaged my water radiator, putting me out of the race. I got a good start and felt comfortable in the car up to that point, so it is a shame to have retired so early, but I’d like to thank everyone in the team for their hard work and determination this weekend.”
Aguri Suzuki, Team Principal: “It was a tough race with only just over half of the competitors crossing the finish line. Despite the fact that we did not attend the test here last week, both drivers and all the mechanics and engineers have done a great job today. I am sorry for Anthony as he retired due to damage to his radiator, but he did a great job at the start. Taku had a very good race in a difficult situation and came home in 13th position, which is our best result so far this season. It has been a difficult weekend for everybody in our team and I would like to thank our partners and the fans for their continued support.”
