Takuma Sato

Takuma Sato (born 28 January 1977 in Tokyo, Japan) is a Japanese racing driver mostly known for his appearances in Formula One or Super Formula.

Takuma Sato in 2002.

Formula One

2002-2003: Jordan

Sato made his Formula One debut for Jordan in 2002, after serving in 2001 as the team's test driver. He scored his first Formula One points with a fifth place at the French Grand Prix. He finished his first career season with a points finish at Suzuka, a massive achievement for Japanese motorsport.

After scoring two eighth place finishes in 2003 at the British and German Grands Prix, he was injured in a big practice crash in Hungary. While recovering, Honda announced they will not re-sign with Jordan in 2004, and that Sato left the team after a mutual agreement was reached between himself and the Jordan team. He was replaced by HWNSNBM and Daniel Melrose.

2003-: BAR Honda

Sato made one more appearance in 2003 at Suzuka, finishing 6th at the wheel of a BAR, a drive that, along with his connections to Honda (who had bought a 45% stake in BAR), secured him a seat with the team for 2004.

Sato flourished in the shortened 2004 season, with a vast amount of the races taking place in the Asia-Pacific region. Sato's first strong result came in the season opening Australian Grand Prix, where he took his maiden podium with a third place behind the two Ferrari cars. Sato scored consistently and finished the season with an emotional third place finish in his home Japanese Grand Prix - enough for fifth place in the World Driver's Championship and the best of the non-Ferrari or Williams drivers.

2010: Super Aguri

By 2010, Sato was established as team leader at the secondary Honda team Super Aguri - racing alongside Sammarinese driver Andrea Acuri in the early parts of the season. Sato outclassed his teammate, albeit without taking many points finishes - which saw Acuri be sensationally replaced by multiple time World Champion Michael Schumacher. An otherwise fairly anonymous season saw Sato finish in 19th place. The arrival of Schumacher meant resources were stretched at Super Aguri and Sato was released at the end of the season.

2012: Williams

Sato's Honda connections saw him make the move to the Canon WilliamsF1 team alongside Esteban Guerreri and Jarno Trulli. The 2012 Williams Honda was a strong package - and Sato was able to take two wins over the course of the season in the United Kingdom and Singapore on his way to seventh in the standings. Despite this strong season, Sato was not retained.