Double car finish in an eventful Shanghai race

huw Alban
By nGO
October 1 2006

In an eventful GP with changing conditions, Sato brings the car home in 14th place while Yamamoto finishes his first GP in 17th.

In an exciting grand prix, Super Aguri once again raised their level of competativeness by finishing infront of their nearest rivals and for the first time, complete the grand prix only a lap behind the race winner.

Yamamoto went further then he has ever done in a grand prix, although four laps down finishing the race was a good acheivement. Sato drove a great race to finish 14th infront of a Toro Rosso and a Spyker. However there was a last lap incident involving Sato, Heidfeld, Barichello, De La Rosa and Button. Heidfeld was held up by Sato as he was coming up to lap him, while this was happening it appears as though De La Rosa may have hit Barichello. Heidfeld was tagged by a late breaking Barichello and Button, Barichello and De La Rosa all went past the German. The incident is being investigated by the stewerds and may have consequences for any or all of the mentioned drivers.

A great race Sato and the team who look to carry this form into the Japanese GP, "It was a fantastic result for us really and indeed it was a truly exciting race in incredibly difficult conditions for everybody. I did a lot of communication throughout the race with my engineer and I think that we chose the right tyre at the right time. At the beginning of the race I got held up, but when I got clear air I was then able to push really hard. At one stage we had a small gearbox related problem, but we were able to fix it quickly. I think that this was a great team effort and it was so important for us to have a good race here in China so that we could carry our good momentum on to Suzuka."

Yamamoto finishes the race in tough conditions, "It was a really tough race for me because the track and weather conditions were constantly changing. We made a decision to change to slick tyres too early one time and I found the car difficult to handle, but after that I pushed hard for the rest of the race. This was my first F1 finish and it feels brilliant. I would like to thank everyone who has always supported me and, of course, the SAF1 Team boys, engineers and everyone at the factory. I am now looking forward to returning to Suzuka with good motivation from my race in China."