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.
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.
Sato made one more appearance 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.
