Monaco: Sato's engine destroyed by a short walk


By Phil Huff (25/05/2004)
May 25 2004

Lucky Strike BAR Honda star Takuma Sato's dramatic engine failure at the Monaco Grand Prix, that led to David Coulthard and Giancarlo Fisichella tangling in the smoke, was the result of a short walk. Following the aborted start, caused by Olivier Panis' Toyota stalling on the grid, cars were left standing for longer than normal. While Jenson Button's car survived intact, Takuma's overheated.

"As the mechanics are at the end of the pitlane, it takes time to reach the cars," Jenson Button explained to BAR-Talk.com. "I was at the front, but Takuma was a few seconds further down. That 10 seconds is all it took to overheat."

Honda engineers, while aware that Taku's engine was misbehaving, believed they could resolve the problem at the first pit stop. However, the Japanese driver didn't get that chance, with his engine blowing up spectacularly on lap three.

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