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What can we expect from Super Aguri in 2007?
By nGO January 19 2007
Super Aguri will start their 2007 campaign with a stronger lineup, more experiance, a bigger team and a more hopeful chassis situation, but what will this mean?

Last year, Super Aguri scrambled their way to the start of the season with a four year old chassis, minimal staff and a driver with shockingly low miles in an F1 car. The driver with shockingly low F1 miles did not make it to the end of the season but looking back things were not so bad for the team. Defiantly the outdated car could qualify within 107% and finish at the very first race. It was clear for everyone to see that Super Aguri improved their performance constantly throughout the season. The last race was spectacular with fastest race laps that required a second glance and a superb top ten finish.

As for 2007 prospects, it is a fact that so far just in december, Super Aguri has completed more testing laps already then they did the whole of the 2006 season. Anthony Davidson now joins Takuma Sato, the two have raced each other in the top flight of lower formulas before. Not only that, but Davidson comes with many years of experiance in an F1 car. couple this with retaining a more experianced Yamamoto as test driver who set the 7th fastest race lap in brazil, and young Van der Garde, Super Aguri have a promising lineup.

Super Aguri managed a top ten last year which was quite an achievement considering the circumstances, many questioned whether their pace was up to F1 standards, those questions were answered, and will not be asked again in 2007.

Race performance increased step by step from finishing a race, to closing down the gap to competitors, to not finishing a race last, then to finish in the top ten. This year making it through the second session of qualify must surely be on the agenda, as is more top ten finishes. If those are achievable then it would not be foolish to start thinking about a point or two. With increased Honda support, and more time to get things ready this is very possible. An issue is that Super Aguri is undeniably a small and young team, how would their car developement over the course of a season be relative to the competition? Especially with reports of rivals using two wind tunnels, or adopting a parent team's chassis. Other issues including their Drivers, while being experianced Davidson is still an unproven F1 racer, and you never know whether you will be getting vintage Sato or Rambo Sato.

Will Super Aguri finish Last again in 2007? In 2006 it was whether Super Aguri could just finish the season, but they are in a much better position. I believe that Super Aguri can get off the bottom, they have a lineup worthy of much more then backmarker performances (which taku showed by at various points of the season by launching the car deep into the midfield despite the out of date car). Super Aguri also have a great team of engineers and designers, that are bolstered by the Honda developement and outside contractors. Here's hoping the 2007 season will be fruitful for the underdog team of F1, and establish them as a worthy members of the F1 paddock.

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