By Phil Huff (08/05/2004)
May 8 2004

Following his stunning third place in qualifying, Lucky Strike BAR Honda's Takuma Sato had to face the press conference for the first time. Takuma, fantastic to see you here. The team's run continues but can you put into your own words what it means to qualify third here today in Barcelona?

It means a lot today to me and the team. Obviously I would like to say a big thanks to them, to the team and the people who are supporting us. And from a personal point of view, to get a grid like this really makes me happy. Obviously I had a really successful free practice this morning. We knew we were going to be really strong in qualifying but saying that, yesterday I had a little bit of difficulty in the programme but I just got past that and it's really nice to be here.



You've been quick here in testing and it's one thing to do it in un-timed practice but quite another to do it under pressure in qualifying. What was it like just before you went out? Jenson had made that mistake, how did you feel?

That corner is a fast corner and also the wind was getting up so it's difficult. We knew that it was going to be a little bit twitchy there but I had a nice balance through there and I didn't worry too much about it. I just concentrated on my lap and obviously was very happy at the end.

Your best position in your Grand Prix career by two positions and it is the best qualifying position by a Japanese driver ever. So, you are pretty pleased?

Yeah, I am very pleased where we are today. Basically this is a circuit where we tested most of the time over the winter and we knew we could go really strong here. It was a little bit of a difficult day for me yesterday, I had done only four timed laps due to the programme, but today, especially in the morning session, we seemed to be very strong. We wanted to make sure we didn't get any more bad luck and it seems to be in the end, with the result, is very good. I am very pleased with myself.

You just did a one minute 14 this morning and yet in the first qualifying session you did a one minute 16. What happened between the two?

Obviously we need to look at the circuit conditions and we can see that it was a lot warmer and the wind picked up a little. Historically the Barcelona circuit, on the test days, has been very quick in the morning and in the afternoon you lose some grip. But generally we have a very strong and balanced car and we didn't worry too much about the times at that time.

Now, the best race finish for a Japanese driver is Aguri Suzuki's third in the Japanese Grand Prix...

Yes, certainly this is a target. Not only for that, but from a personal point of view and a team's point of view, if you qualify third you expect a podium finish and that is really hard, I would imagine, because I have never done that. But I will try my best.