For Takuma Sato, driving for BAR Honda for the final time, the Chinese Grand Prix proved to be a disappointing end to mirror his season, the Japanese driver being forced into an early conclusion by gearbox failure after 34 laps.
The afternoon had already got off to a difficult start for Taku, who was deemed to have jumped the start and given a drive-through penalty, which relegated him to the back of the pack. Running under the first safety car, he then experienced gearbox problems and these got progressively worse before he was forced to retire.

　 "Today's race was a difficult one and the end result was disappointing because I was making good progress and a points finish looked possible. The gearbox problems I had been experiencing earlier in the race eventually forced me to retire, which is a frustrating way to end the season - and my time with BAR Honda. It's been a tough year, but it has been great to be a part of this team. We have had some fantastic times together and I have a lot of good memories. I would like to thank everybody in the team and all our partners. I wish them all the very best of luck for the future."

　 Takuma Sato was the first driver to leave the pit-lane for his decisive single-lap run in qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix, and was accordingly restricted to the 17th fastest time on a 'green' track.

Taku continued to make steady progress throughout the morning's free practice sessions, improving the balance of his car. In the top eight times in the first session, Taku was 13th in the second, but then conditions changed significantly for qualifying, and he suffered the brunt of that with the early timing of his run.

　 "It was a very difficult lap for me, not least because I was the first driver out on track and the circuit was incredibly slippery - very different to the conditions we had in free practice this morning. We have done all the preparation that we could and, as this is my final qualifying session of the season and my last for the BAR Honda team, I am determined to keep pushing for a good result tomorrow to express my thanks to the team."

　 Takuma Sato and the BAR Honda team embarked on the first day of the final race of the season eager to end 2005 on a high. Taku completed his share of a total 81 laps of tyre comparisons and set-up work, fine-tuning the BAR-Honda 007 to the characteristics of the spectacular Shanghai International Circuit.
In the morning's first free practice session, he was the twelfth fastest driver - or tenth excluding the Friday-only runners - before dropping back to 13th after lunch as the team concentrated more on long-run evaluation and tyre work.

　 "It was a good start to the practice session and this has given us a good initial direction. The balance at the beginning of the day was good and we acquired all the important information that we need to make our tyre decision for tomorrow. I'm looking forward to continuing this good progress throughout the rest of the weekend."