Although Takuma finished just outside the points in 9th place, he fully deserved the credit given for a gutsy drive from the back of the grid, making up for the disappointment of qualifying.

After lining up in a frustrating 20th grid slots, Taku was on fire from the off, making up places lap after lap before settling into 7th by his first pit-stop. The team split different strategies between its two drivers, and brought Takuma in at the end of the parade lap, refuelling him enough for a further single stop on lap 29. He then drove a faultless race but, despite hunting down Christian Klien by the finish, was not quite able to secure a point.

　 "It was a tough race today, not least because of the temperature in the cockpit, so I am pleased with our result. I have finally achieved my first championship point of the season after a lot of bad luck, and I am happy to do so as the team begins a three-week break. I would like to thank everyone for all their hard work during the first part of the season.

"It was a mixed weekend for me. It was great on the one hand, as I had a really exciting race, but it was a shame that I could not finish in the points today. Our qualifying positions cost us the result, but we tried a very different strategy today to try to make up some places. The team has done a great job this weekend and I want to thank everybody who has worked so hard. I hope that we will be able to carry this momentum over to the next race."

　 Solid preparation for qualifying ended with frustration for Takuma Sato, after the Japanese driver ran wide at the already infamous long, high-speedand left-handed turn eight at Istanbul Park. Despite recovering, Taku found himself back in 14th place on the grid. The frustration did not end there, however, as the BAr-Honda driver then lost his time after the stewards adjudged him to have obstructed Williams' MArk Webber's flying lap.

　 "After such a positive start to this grand prix, it's a shame to have such a disappointing qualifying session. Unfortunately, in turn eight, my car bottomed a lot, creating understeer, and I ran wide. I feel sorry for the team because we were all hopeful of better things today. All I can do from here is stay positive and do the best job I possibly can to make good progress through the field tomorrow.

"As for the incident with Mark Webber, we had a radio interference problem and the team were unable to tell me his position on the track."

　 Following the three-week summer break in the Formula One calendar, Takuma Sato blasted back into action at the new Istanbul Park circuit, enjoying two productive practice sessions around the undulating 3.317-mile track to comfortably claim a fastest lap well within the top ten.

Despite the circuit being new to F1, Taku and the BAR-Honda team carried out their usual Friday programme, familiarising themselves with the track before focusing on tyre evaluation and set-up work.

The team's pre-race simulation work proved extremely accurate, with few changes needing to be made, but the track was slippery in the first session. With more rubber down in the second session, lap times became more meaningful, with Taku completing 25 tours.

　 "It was a good session today and it was exciting to be on a new and quite challenging circuit. I think that they have done a very good job with the track design. We ran through our usual Friday programme with no issues, so it is now important for us to look at the data and discuss with Michelin where we go from here. We had relatively strong pace today which is a good sign for us for tomorrow, so I am really looking forward to it."