Super Aguri driver Takuma Sato was forced to retire from the Monaco Grand Prix with just over 30 laps left to go, when he had electrical problems with his Honda powered SA05.

　 "I am very disappointed not to have finished the race. Up to my retirement I had enjoyed it immensely and although we did not make a great start, I had moved up a few positions and the car was running well. Our pitstop strategy and traffic control enabled me to make consistent runs and to push all the time. But suddenly we encountered an electrical issue and the speed dramatically dropped, so I came back to the pits and we made a setting change, but after one lap we suffered total failure and I had to retire from the race. It is a shame because the team has done such a great job this weekend and our progress has been very encouraging. I am also personally extremely disappointed not to have finished this Grand Prix, but that is motor racing and I will try again next year."

　 Super Aguri driver Takuma Sato will start the Monaco Grand Prix ahead of the Ferrari of Felipe Massa, but reckoned he could have been better still had it not been for the Principality's usual problems.

　 "Free practice went smoothly for us this morning. We tried both race set-up and performance runs and I was satisfied with the balance of the car. For qualifying, we were able to complete our planned runs but, unfortunately, I got caught in traffic on my quickest lap, which is a little disappointing but normal for Monaco. However, from my point of view, we did the best we could during a busy qualifying session. It is going to be a long and tough race tomorrow and I am looking forward to the challenge as anything could happen!"

　 The Super Aguri F1 team successfully completed its planned programme on the opening day of the Monaco Grand Prix, despite red flag situations interrupting running during both hour-long free practice sessions.

　 "It was a good day for the team. My role in today's programme was to concentrate on the race set-up as the track conditions will change considerably before Saturday morning. We will be back to a low-grip surface for the third free practice session as there is no running tomorrow [Friday] and this is why today was our best chance to experiment with the different set-up options for the race. I am reasonably happy with the car balance and pace today, so I am looking forward to continuing our programme on Saturday."