Takuma Sato brought home Super Aguri F1's first finish in the Bahrain Grand Prix, despite the team suffering fuel rig problems that caused delays in its progress. While team-mate Yuji Ide dropped out at mid-distance, Taku continued to lap respectably to claim 18th place at the chequered flag.

　 "It is a fantastic result for us. I think that the boys in the garage deserve to be happy because they worked so hard to get us here to Bahrain. Although, today, we had radio communication and fuel rig problems, which is why there was some confusion during our pit-stops, I think that everyone in the team has done a really good job. It is a positive step for us and I am very happy with today’s result. It was only a shame for Yuji that we could not bring the two cars home, but it is the great start that the team needed."

　 Takuma Sato ensured that the new Super Aguri F1 team would be on the grid for its first grand prix in Barcelona - ahead of McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen.

Further hard work during the third practice session of the weekend saw Taku improve his fastest lap by over half a second, and set him up for the intriguing new qualifying procedure, where, as expected, both Super Aguri cars featured in only the first segment. However, problems for Raikkonen mean that Taku will line up in 20th position on Sunday.

　 "Well done to everyone in the team - I am delighted with the result. Both cars qualified and we are on the grid for the race tomorrow, which was our target for this weekend, but is still a great achievement by the team. We have to work hard on improving our performance going forward but, for now, we have accomplished everything that we wanted to achieve so far this weekend and we hope that both cars have a good race tomorrow."

　 Takuma Sato began the latest leg of his Formula One adventure in Bahrain, as the Super Aguri F1 team made its competitive debut. Having completed its race against time to ensure that all that needed to be achieved before running in Sakhir, the team experienced relatively few problems during its first day on track

　 "It was a busy day being the first time the team has run in a race-weekend situation. Obviously, we were limited because of the amount of work we have to do today, but we have been able to collect very valuable data as this is really the first time that we have run the SA05 with our 2006 aero package. So this is a good step for our first day and there is a lot of work to do regarding our performance, but we shall work hard over night to ensure another good day tomorrow."