HANS problem for Sato in Germany

BAR's Takuma Sato had to work hard for his one point in the German Grand Prix after a problem with the Head and Neck Support (HANS). Sato was battling his way through the field with some brave overtaking but pain from a shoulder injury -- which occurred back in Bahrain -- was made worse by a belt slipping off the HANS system.

Takuma Sato.

Photo by LAT Photographic.

"That gives me trouble with the HANS Device, which is stopping the blood from circulating," he said of the previous injury, in a report on his website. "With any muscular or soft tissue problem, ideally you would have to rest for a few weeks, but driving through the season is constantly damaging it."

"For this race I had to reduce the pressure by going one hole up on my seatbelt. It gives less pressure, but also less support. But what an unbelievable thing happened to me (on race day) was the belt slipped off from the HANS device! It was causing me a lot of pain and restriction."

"I tried to relax my belts and put it back to the HANS on the straight, but it was impossible and I then made it tighter than before because I needed extra support holding my body."

"I was shortly able to sort out this problem at the pit-stop but after a few laps, all went wrong again. The HANS was pushing away, and because it's connected to the helmet by a strap, one time I couldn't turn my helmet and I couldn't see the apex."

Fortunately for Sato, F1 now has a three-week break before the Hungarian Grand Prix so he can take some time to make sure he's 100% fit. "I'm going to relax away from F1 now because I've been flat-out every single day!" he commented. "The next time I'm going to be back in the car is at Budapest, and I want to come back physically and mentally refreshed."