By Phil Huff (13/06/2004)
June 13 2004

Takuma Sato suffered in qualifying, making mistakes and spinning at the last corner. The result is that the Lucky Strike BAR Honda driver lines up a disappointing 17th for the Canadian GP. Not only did he disappoint himself, saying "I'm very annoyed with myself and I've certainly made life hard by having to start so far back down the grid," but he also suffered the wrath of team principal David Richards.

"I am very disappointed with his performance as he had the speed to deliver at the same level as Jenson," said an obviously irritated Richards. "Having made a couple of errors in the second sector he should have consolidated the lap into what would have been a row two grid slot."

With the chase for second in the championship so finely balanced, it's vital that BAR get two cars in the points at each race, as Renault have so far. While Takuma's fighting spirit is a benefit to the team, it's costing the points at times.

As David Richards says, "I fully support his brave and ambitious spirit; we just need to channel it in the right direction."

Here's hoping it can be channelled there quickly.