2006 US GRAND PRIX – FREE PRACTICE AND QUALIFYING
TAKUMA SATO - Car No: 22 (chassis SA05-05)
FP3 Position 21 No: of Laps 16 Best Lap Time 1:13.806
QUALIFYING Grid Position 18 Best Lap Time 1:13.496
FRANCK MONTAGNY - Car No: 23 (chassis SA05-02)
FP3 Position 22 No: of Laps 10 Best Lap 1:14.454
QUALIFYING Grid Position 22 Best Lap 1:16.036
T-Car SA05-01
Weather Very hot and sunny Air Temperature 28-36°C Track
Temperature 35-56°C
SUPER AGURI F1 TEAM driver Takuma Sato was only three seconds
off the pace of Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari during
the third free practice session this morning. The running
got off to a slow start with many teams opting for later start
times, resulting in a busy track during the second half of
the session.
In the afternoon Takuma drove a solid first Qualifying session
to finish in 18th position ahead of Rosberg (Williams), Trulli
(Toyota) and Luizzi (Scuderia Toro Rosso). Rosberg’s
failure to attend an FIA weigh-in meant an unscheduled call
to the scales for SAF1 Team driver Franck Montagny who, with
very little running time left in the first Qualifying session,
suffered an electronics complication that prevented him from
setting a fastest timed lap for position.
Takuma Sato
“It was a fantastic Qualifying session. We made good
progress throughout the practice sessions and the car has
felt good all weekend. To be able to set our best Qualifying
position and to be competitive in quite gusty and very hot
conditions is great. I am extremely happy to be in this position
for the race tomorrow and would like to thank everyone in
the team for their hard work so far this weekend.
Franck Montagny
“It has been a bad day, again. During Qualifying we
had another problem and this cannot keep happening every race
weekend. It makes it extremely difficult to concentrate on
what you are supposed to be doing because you have to focus
on solving the problems and not on making progress. I hope
we have a better day tomorrow but right now I am very disappointed
about this Qualifying position for me.”
Aguri Suzuki, Team Principal
“The team did a very good job today. Our only problem,
but a major one, was with the electronics on Franck's car.
I do not know why this continues to happen, but we have to
find a solution. Setting a Qualifying time is so important
and I feel very sorry for Franck. The opposite can be said
of Taku’s session today. He did a very good job, his
qualifying time was perfect and his car was performing well.
Taku’s mechanics and engineers did a great job today
and I am very happy that we finished in 18th position for
the first time. I am especially happy for Taku as he enjoys
this circuit and has fond memories from the US Grand Prix
in 2004 when he achieved his first podium. I hope that we
have a good race tomorrow and a good result from both Taku
and Franck.”
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