where did Sato go ?

[Sato san]

I have to say i really miss watching Takuma is F1 this year ....His performaces late last season against Fisi was very good . He got dropped by Jordan because they needed money as Jordan lacked Sponors . Even all the while he was having some offs , his car control was still just stunning ..

I believe Ralph Firmin looks very bland in comparison and hasnt delivered at all so far .....Funny though , as by this time last year , there was a witch hunt about Taku being out of his depth and should get out of F1 , yet for some reason Ralph isnt quite getting the same kind of thing . ??????

BAR could be a real good move for Takuma , i really hope he gets a race seat next year ...Then we can enjoy watching 3 great drivers with passion race their socks off all season long !..JPM , Kimi , Takuma .

Oh , as for his Formula 3 days ....does anyone else remember his fantastic F3 debut with Diamond Racing at Silverstone ?...great days !

[Dani Filth]

yeap .. is gonna be CART for Villeneuve next year ... but not sure that Sato is the best man to replace him .. but Honda could push him forward ..

[Jellybabe]

Originally posted by Dani Filth
yeap .. is gonna be CART for Villeneuve next year ... but not sure that Sato is the best man to replace him .. but Honda could push him forward ..

Jacques doesn't want to go back to CART. Ever. Even with Craig's team.... How many more times does he have to say it?!

But on the subject of silly season at BAR, excuse the plug for my own website, but this is relevant to the discussion...

[Sato san]

Good read that Jellybabe !


Good site !....

I think this is all going to take time to pan out..but in all honesty , i cant see Taku ever becoming a Wurz or a Gene ...The guy is a pure racer , and he drives with fire in his belly ....i cant see him staying at BAR for 3 years doing testing miles.

Im sure he knows something we dont .

[neilap]

JV is awesome in the car. However, from what I have read he is not necessarily the best team player nor PR person. Sato is everything Honda wants in a racer except for his performance on a whole last year. He showed sparks of brilliance but he also shunted the car a lot. When he drove more consistently he was slower than his teammate. In Japan, it all seemed to come together. Ideally he would have been given the chance at continuity. Now if he starts next year with B.A.R Honda I would expect a little "ring rust".
Either way, I feel JV is better than him on the track and that is where it counts the most. If Sato can bring up his performances I feel he will be much more of an asset to the team than JV. He will have everything Honda and BAR needs. He would bring many Japanese sponsors and even more fans from all over Asia.

[Sato san]

I think it needs to be remembered that Jordan had hardly any test miles last year . More or less the only time Takuma got to settle in the car was at a GP weekend . While many of the other teams were testing , Takuma was not ....Thats not a excuse , the little guy did make some mistakes last year ..ie Monaco , Sepang etc , but there is more to the story that what normally gets banded about.

I think he has very good pace , and it needs remembering that he went into last year with the simular attitude that he had in F3 in 2000 that it was a learning year , he was always gonna push like hell ,give it maximum attack and make most of the mistakes out of the way and get his head down for a good solid season in 2003 .Unfortunalty becasuse of Jordans finiancial situation he got dropped , which is a real shame because i think we would have seen a much more consistent Sato this year . Maybe in hindsight it was the wrong way to go , but you got to admire his grit , determination and guts for always being totally prepared to push the car for all its worth .

[Dani Filth]

Originally posted by Jellybabe
Jacques doesn't want to go back to CART. Ever. Even with Craig's team.... How many more times does he have to say it?!

But on the subject of silly season at BAR, excuse the plug for my own website, but this is relevant to the discussion...

so .. if he's not going to CART where is he gonna race.. there is no place in F1 for Jacques ..... he's gonna get beaten by Button .... so Jacques retires from F1 ...

[neilap]

I am confident Sato can be great. It was important for him to race this year too to stay race fit. Either way I am sure he will excell.

The only reason I dont think JV will be at BAR is politics. He is fast and experienced this is what any developing team needs. JB has been pretty good too but he has thrown away two high points positions while under pressure, Trulli and MS in Malaysia and Alonzo in Brazil. I felt at the start that JV would be making the mistakes but he has been steadier than JB though not necessarily faster.

[mariov]

What was interesting are the comments that Richards made today...saying that Sato does not have a confirm seat for next year....they have options for testing and racing...but nothing confirmed....Is it more BS and double talk from Richards...or does Sato know more about Hondas plans for the next season because of his ties to Honda???

[JonesF1]

Originally posted by neilap
The question is, can he fill the shoes of whoever leaves?

The way things are right now filling the shoes of Jacques or Button wouldnt be a big accomplishment.

[neilap]

Originally posted by JonesF1
The way things are right now filling the shoes of Jacques or Button wouldnt be a big accomplishment.

I cant agree with that. They both are good drivers and JV is an excellent racer. The virdict on Button is out still. At the end of the season we will see. Against Fisi he looked poor but anyone leaving Williams and going to Benneton at that time would be in for a shock. Lets see how they do against each other.