Canadian GP: Super Aguri race notes

It was a disappointing end to the Canadian Grand Prix weekend for the Super Aguri F1 Team. SAF1 Team driver Franck Montagny suffered an engine failure on lap two whilst team-mate Takuma Sato drove a fantastic race ahead of the Midland F1 car of Monteiro and would have come home in 14th position had he not clipped the wall at turn nine on the final race lap.

Takuma Sato:

"I am very disappointed not to have finished the race today, particularly as the start went really well for me and under braking into turn one I overtook both the Midland cars. Unfortunately, after the first safety car came out, David (Coulthard) squeezed past me, damaging my front wing at the second chicane and I had to come into the pits."

"I then pushed really hard for the entire race, very keen to finish in front of Monteiro, and after the last safety car went in I had to keep pushing the car to keep position."

"But by this time the circuit was so difficult to drive - the track was covered in marbles and dust - and as I had to continue to push so hard to stay in front of the Midland I went slightly offline and had no grip at all, so unfortunately could not finish the race."

Franck Montagny:

"We did not have a great start to the weekend, but everybody has worked very hard and I was confident for the first time for the race today. It is a shame that a problem appeared today and I could not finish the race, but that is motor racing. We must not forget that we are a very young team and we have a lot of things to learn, both on the driving and technical sides, so every race is good experience for us."

Aguri Suzuki, Team Principal:

"It was a very tough race and showed that any small mistake can mean the end of your race at this circuit. I feel very sorry for Franck as he has worked hard all weekend. Taku had a great race and was pushing constantly to keep ahead of Monteiro, so it is a shame that he did not cross the finish line."

"Our car performance is very low and it is very difficult to drive so although it is not a great result for the team, I am happy that the drivers and the mechanics did a great job together over the weekend."

Takuma Sato
Chassis: SA05-05
Position: 15
Fastest Lap Time: 1:20.490

Franck Montagny
Chassis: SA05-02
Position: DNF
Fastest Lap Time: 2:07.709

-superaguri-