TAKUMA SATO PROFILE

Born: 28.01.77
Birthplace: Tokyo, Japan
Team: Super Aguri
2008 Car Number: 18
Last Season: 17th

Takuma Sato may not be the best Formula One driver on the grid, but his tendancy to crash into barriers and other cars have made him one of the most talked about and earned him a notorious reputation.

Accidents are hardly a recently-discovered phenomenon for Taku. Arriving in F1 in 2002 as reigning British F3 champion, the then 25-year-old often made headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Being the first rookie to crash in Australia and then bumping into his Jordan team-mate - Giancarlo Fisichella - early on gave the earnest Takuma a reputation for being a liability.

But the resilient Sato took it all in his stride and went on to prove he can - sometimes - be fast and keep it on the island.

Nonetheless, the funniest sight of that year was arguably Taku wading back through the undergrowth in Montreal whilst trying to get back to the pits and into the spare car.

Most worrying sight of the year was when Nick Heidfeld's out-of-control Sauber rammed a helpless Taku in Austria. Luckily both survived with only the slightest of injuries.

His home race at Suzuka, though, proved to be a fantastic finale for him and Jordan.

Yet despite claiming fifth place in front of his joyous home crowd, Taku lost his Jordan seat, which some believed was inevitable after his backers Honda ended their engine contract with Eddie Jordan's team.

After spending the 2003 season testing for BAR, Taku returned to the grid for the final race of that year's campaign at Japan and impressed by finishing in the points.

Promoted to a race seat alongside Jenson Button in 2004, Sato had a mixed season, his speed rarely in doubt - unlike his judgement.

Nurburgring was a case in point; Takuma delivered a searing display and yet, with second place his for the taking, he threw it away with an ill-advised and catastrophic lunge into Rubens Barrichello's Ferrari.

Nevertheless, his first podium was eventually forthcoming at the United States GP.

Although his season total of 34 points was barely a third of what team-mate Jenson Button had collected, BAR extended Taku's contract for 2005.

Most observers suspected that his nationality, and Honda's patronage, was the only reason why.

2005 proved to be a wretched season for the Japanese driver, who had his first top-eight finish (in San Marino) disallowed after his team-mate's car was deemed illegal.

This not only led to BAR's disqualification from the race but also a two-race ban. Taku finished only one other GP in the points, finishing P8 in Hungary.

But while points were scarce, shunts were not, and by the end of the season he'd connected with at least half the drivers on the grid. The most notable moment being his Spa accident with Michael Schumacher which ended with the Ferrari ace slapping Taku's crash helmet.

Tired of the lack of results and hefty repair bills BAR, now owned entirely by Honda, finally opted not to renew Taku's deal, leaving him without a race-seat for 2006.

But just when it looked as if his F1 career had come to an abrupt end, he was handed a lifeline by newcomers Super Aguri.

Facing some low-level competition from first Yuji Ide and then Sakon Yamamoto, Sato was very much the team leader.

While points were never on the cards, the small team made good progress through the season and it was fairly common to see Sato running ahead of more established rivals early in the races.

The season finale in Brazil was by far Sato's best race of the season as he took the chequered flag in tenth position ahead of six of his rivals.

Sato remained at Super Aguri and was joined by his new team-mate Anthony Davidson, who also was previously his team-mate at Carlin Motorsport in British F3.

Sato started the 2007 season strongly, qualifying in tenth place for the season-opening Australian GP. This represented the team's best-ever result in qualifying. He then finished eighth in the Spanish GP, to record Super Aguri's first ever World Championship point.

His greatest moment came in Canada when he overtook the McLaren of World Champion Fernando Alonso, just after overtaking Ralf Schumacher and having overtaken Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen earlier in he race.

He eventually finished sixth in Montreal after having a race that had seen him move from the middle of the grid to the back of the pack and then to a high of fifth - before a pit-stop error caused him to move back to eleventh.

From there, he moved up five places in the last 15 laps.

The Canadian Grand Prix turned out to be Sato's last points finish of the season, but it still earned him 17th position in the Drivers' Championship standings with four points, his best result since 2004.

Sato remains with Super Aguri in 2008 where the team will once again be hoping for a step forward in their results.