Takuma Sato was an unfortunate victim at the German Grand Prix, when he got caught out on the first lap when Giancarlo Fisichella lifted going through turn 3, which is usually taken flat out. As a result Taku was forced to pit at the end of the opening lap for a new nose cone something that severely compromised his race. He eventually finished twelfth.

　 "The race was a very big disappointment for me, particularly as we had qualified with so much fuel on-board so I felt we were in a strong position.

I had a small incident in turn one but the car was OK. I was following Fisichella through turn three which is usually flat, when for some reason he lifted and there was no way to avoid hitting him. We had to change the nose and I knew then that I was going to have a very difficult race but kept going. It was a big shame because the team had done a very good job, the car was performing well and getting better and better. Now I have to keep motivated and look forward to Hungary next weekend."

　 Takuma Sato did a great job to post the eighth fastest time during qualifying - a 1min 15.501secs - despite the disadvantage of being only the fifth driver out on track and therefore being unable to capitalise on the ever-improving track conditions. Earlier in the day he had been tenth quickest in the first free practice session with a 1min 17.331secs and 13th quickest in the second session, with a 1min 15.699secs.

　 "I'm pleased with my lap considering that I was one of the first drivers out on the track. It's always a disadvantage running early in the session but I'm pleased with how it went. We had a good morning's preparation and I think our race pace and strategy should be good."

　 Friday saw Takuma Sato working with the BAR-Honda team on its usual set-up and tyre selection programme for the race weekend. Takuma ended the morning session ninth quickest with a 1min 16.795secs. In the afternoon, the field was much closer as many drivers were focusing on long-run tyre work. Takuma finished the second session 18th, with just a second covering 14 runners.

The car was well-balanced despite the lower than usual track temperatures here and both Taku and his team-mate, Jenson Button achieved plenty of running and useful data as a consequence, which leaves them well placed to improve as the weekend progresses.

　 "Both sessions went well today and we have done a reasonable amount of running. We suffered a little bit with lack of grip as the temperatures were quite cold. The balance of the car was good and we just have to work on gaining more speed before tomorrow, but overall the weekend has started well."