A spin by Jarno Trulli’s Toyota ahead of Takuma on the first corner meant that he had to take immediate evasive action, costing him several positions. From there on in, Takuma struggled to find the pace he wanted from his SA07.

　 “ It was a tough race. I did not have a very good start off the line, but I held my position. I was optimistic that I would be able to gain some positions in the back of the queue into Turn One, but just in front of me one of the Toyota cars spun and completely blocked my line. I had to brake really hard and to avoid him I had to go round the outside and I lost many places. From then on I had a very tough race and nothing else really happening. It is a shame to finish the race weekend like this, but we just struggled with grip all weekend and continue to lack the pace. ”

　 Although happy with the car balance during the morning’s running, Takuma struggled to find grip during Qualifying and was unable to find the pace in his SA07 to join his teammate Anthony Davidson in Q2.

　 “ I was happy with the car balance during Free Practice and the car felt good. But in Qualifying, although the balance itself was fine, we were lacking the pace and I did not have good grip, so it is difficult to really understand what happened. It is disappointing Qualifying in this position, so we shall have to see what we can do tomorrow. ”

　 Takuma Sato made an encouraging start to the Turkish Grand Prix weekend on Friday. The Super Aguri man completed his planned test programme and was reasonably happy with the balance of his SA07 at the end of the two sessions.

　 “ I am very glad to be back racing after the summer break. The team is upbeat and looking forward to the second half of the season, especially after our last race in Budapest where, towards the end, our pace was strong, so we have a very positive attitude here in Istanbul. Of course everybody else has made progress aswell as us, but we need to find more speed. However, I think it was a very good day. We completed the normal tyre comparisons, even though we were interrupted by the Red Flag, and I am reasonably happy with the car balance. ”