15/06/2004
NEWS STORY
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Only a couple of weeks ago, BAR team principal declared Takuma Sato to be "the star of the show".
Having dominated several practice sessions, the Japanese driver took second on the grid at the Nurburgring, and almost converted it into a visit to the podium until a move on Rubens Barrichello went wrong.
All the youngster's previous good work was quickly forgotten, with Barrichello calling the BAR driver 'amateur', while the media brought out the usual tired old clichés of 'kamikaze kid'.
In qualifying in Canada, Takuma looked set to repeat his Nurburgring performance, or possibly exceed it, until he spun, having pushed that little bit too hard. Consequently he started from seventeenth of the grid.
In the race he suffered an engine failure, not for the first time this season, causing teammate Jenson Button to suggest that perhaps the Japanese driver had simply been pushing too hard.
Though there's no doubting his talent, opinion as to Takuma's abilities is clearly divided. Some regard him as the 'kamikaze kid', destined to keep repeating the same mistakes, while others believe he has the makings of a major talent.
Speaking after Takuma's Montreal engine failure, David Richards made it clear that he believes Takuma is a little bit special.
"He is an extraordinary talent," said the Englishman, "and my job is to harness it now.
"He will learn, and he's learning all the time," Richards continued, "but obviously we are impatient, all of us, for that to come right for him. When it comes right, and I've seen it so many times before with people of that sort of level of speed and performance, then it just won't stop."
Engine failure has accounted for Sato's last three retirements, in Monaco, Europe and Canada, and some, like Button, are pointing the finger at the driver, after all, the English driver doesn't seem to be similarly afflicted.
"It's something we don't understand to be perfectly honest," Richards admitted, "and I don't think you can level blame at Taku for that at all. We have to try and understand it. There is a technical reason for it and it certainly can't be blamed on the driver.
Referring to the incident at the Nurburgring, Richards said: "We had a little talking to him, trying to temper his enthusiasm, quietly cajoling him and to lower the expectations as well. You don't win championships in the first race?
"You always see aggressive performances from people who are uncertain of their position," added Richards, "or just their performance overall. He's got to be a little more comfortable setting goals for himself.
"I think we all make our own pressure and we can manage that very carefully if we think about it. There are ways in which we can control that for him and help him out of the problem. The pressure is on me, quite frankly because he drives for me, so I've got to find ways of getting the best out of him."