Assessment – Friday – Super Aguri at the back of the pack

His sports director acknowledges that tonight, the lack of testing during the off-season is heavily handicapping Super-Aguri. Evidence supporting this is the results of the two drivers, Sato and Davidson, during this first day of testing at the Sepang circuit.

Not better than a 19th place, meaning the drivers occupy the last three positions, which makes Super-Aguri the weakest team just hours before the qualifiers. But is that a surprise?

Takuma Sato – 20th and 19th:

« It was a Friday without any real problems. Given the situation, we limited the number of kilometers to travel. We had a small overheating problem that we resolved while also making steady progress. »

The car started to gain traction towards the end of the day. We tried different setups. We are far from fully understanding the car today, but we can work on improving our speed. Tomorrow morning, we will be able to do so before the qualifications.

Anthony Davidson – 21st and 20th:

The day turned out to be much more productive compared to the one in Melbourne. The car was reliable, and we conducted some work on the tires. These were of invaluable help to both me and Takuma.

« I am relatively satisfied with the position we are in tonight. I worked well with my new engineer, Richard, who did a good job, as did all the team members today. »

Graham Taylor – Sporting Director:

« A wide range of analyses has been carried out today, with our drivers not being very lucky. Balance remains the number one issue, but we are working on it. I believe we all agree that the lack of winter testing is the explanation for our current situation. »