Formula One news

Yamamoto marks first F1 finish

Sakon Yamamoto brought home his SA06 to finish his first grand prix with the Super Aguri team. Team mate Takuma Sato passed the chequered flag in 14th position giving the SAF1 Team another double finish. The weather once again played an integral part this weekend and made for an eventful 2006 Chinese Grand Prix.

"It was a fantastic result for us really and indeed it was a truly exciting race in incredibly difficult conditions for everybody," said Sato. "I did a lot of communication throughout the race with my engineer and I think that we chose the right tyre at the right time. At the beginning of the race I got held up, but when I got clear air I was then able to push really hard. At one stage we had a small gearbox related problem, but we were able to fix it quickly. I think that this was a great team effort and it was so important for us to have a good race here in China so that we could carry our good momentum on to Suzuka."

Sakon Yamamoto commented, "It was a really tough race for me because the track and weather conditions were constantly changing. We made a decision to change to slick tyres too early one time and I found the car difficult to handle, but after that I pushed hard for the rest of the race. This was my first F1 finish and it feels brilliant. I would like to thank everyone who has always supported me and, of course, the SAF1 Team boys, engineers and everyone at the factory. I am now looking forward to returning to Suzuka with good motivation from my race in China"

Team boss Aguri Suzuki added, "I am very happy because we have once again achieved a two-car finish and Sakon has finished his first F1 race. Taku's lap time was very good and he drove a solid race in difficult conditions. The Chinese Grand Prix was very important to the team as it is just before we travel to Suzuka. Our car has shown reliability here, which is extremely important and we have had a very good race today so I am very happy indeed."

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