There was a disappointing end to the European Grand Prix for Takuma Sato and the Super Aguri F1 team , as the Japanese driver failed to finish due to hydraulic issues. Taku had made an impressive start, jumping nine places from his grid position, but saw his race end early on lap 45.

　 "It was a great race for me up until the last moment, when I had to retire due to a hydraulic problem. It is a shame for the team who had worked so hard this weekend. I also really wanted to finish this race because we had been reliable for the first part of the season. The start was exciting for me as off the line was reasonably okay, but I overtook quite a few cars at turn one, which was a good feeling. Unfortunately, I then had a similar problem to the one I experienced on Saturday morning - the car's straight-line speed got increasingly slower over the first five laps and I lost a number of the places that I had made up. For the rest of the race, the car was handling reasonably well, so it is disappointing not to have crossed the finish line, but at least the next grand prix is only a few days away, so I am looking forward to getting back to work in Barcelona."

　 After encountering brake problems in final free practice, Takuma Sato was among those to be confused by 'timing problems' and a red flag 'red herring' during qualifying at the European Grand Prix.

"It has been a good day for the team. We made encouraging progress overnight and this morning's practice session went very smoothly, so I was able to put in a good performance in qualifying. I am very pleased with my lap, as I think that we got the best out of the car and the team is very much looking forward to the race tomorrow."

　 "We had a difficult start to the morning. We needed a lot of work to improve the balance of the car, but then, as we suffered a brake related issue which required some time to investigate, we were unable to complete the running we needed. The guys did a good job in solving this problem and we made a set-up change, then I was happier with the car balance for qualifying. It is a shame that there was some confusion about the red flag situation during my second attack, but I am feeling positive about tomorrow's race."

　 The Super Aguri team made an encouraging start to its European Grand Prix weekend, with Takuma Sato and new team-mate Franck Montagny completing their scheduled programmes with only one short-lived mechanical issue between them.

　 "We completed our planned programme with no problems, which is a good start to the weekend. We have a further aero update for this race which worked well and has improved the balance of the car. We struggled with low grip at the beginning but, towards the end of the sessions, both the grip and balance improved. Obviously, looking at our lap times, we will continue working to step up our pace but, overall, it was a good day for the team."