USA: Hit and miss for BAR as Sato collides again

By BAR F1 (19/06/2004)
June 19 2004

Lucky Strike BAR Honda's three-strong strike force endured mixed fortunes on the opening day of the United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis.

With track temperatures nudging 50 degrees - the hottest Formula One has encountered at this venue - Anthony Davidson maintained his sterling run of Friday form by posting a top-three time in both free practice sessions and setting the day's second fastest lap, beaten only by Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello.

Jenson Button was the quicker of BAR's two race drivers, in fifth place, but team-mate Takuma Sato was only 14th. The Japanese driver managed just one flying lap in the day's quicker, second session after he collided with Sauber rival Felipe Massa at Turn One. Sato had to abandon his stricken car on the grass run-off area and practice was briefly red-flagged to facilitate its retrieval.

Davidson said "This is my first time at Indianapolis and driving here has been every bit as exciting as I hoped it might be. There are some good passing opportunities and I don't remember ever overtaking so many cars during an F1 practice session. The track was very dusty at the start of both sessions, but rubber was laid down pretty quickly and we were able to make steady improvements. I'm generally pleased with what I have achieved and the team looks in good shape for another strong performance."

Button, who lies third in the world championship prior to this weekend's race, added "This has been a really productive day. We made useful improvements to the car and worked on our performance over longer runs. We gathered quite a bit of useful information that will help us prepare for tomorrow."

Sato rued the premature conclusion to his programme but took heart from his accomplices' efforts. "It was good to see the other two cars running so well," he said. "Even though I wasn't able to complete my tyre assessment programme, I am confident that we have enough data to enable me to make the right choice for the rest of the weekend."

Team principal David Richards saw positives and negatives in BAR's performance - although he remains upbeat. He said "Anthony and Jenson have had a good day and completed their scheduled runs. Taku's incident has left him with a real shortage of track time and it is very clear that the team will not move forward until we have two cars fulfilling our maximum potential in every circumstance. We will make every effort to ensure the rest of the weekend meets this goal."