11/07/2005
NEWS STORY
Takuma Sato has admitted to making the simple mistake that cost him and his team vital championship points at Silverstone.
Starting from eighth on the grid, ahead of both Schumachers, there was a real opportunity to score his first points of the season - the four he scored at Imola, for finishing fifth, having been taken away in the wake of the fuel tank saga - but he blew it.
"The simple fact is that as I was going through the start procedure on the way to the grid, I hit the wrong button on the steering wheel as I was warming up the tyres," admitted the Japanese driver.
His car stranded in the middle of the track, the BAR star sat and waited as the rest of the field passed by, lined up on the grid and then stormed off into the distance, before he was pushed up the track and into the pitlane. He eventually got going, the team having adjusted his strategy, but was never going to be in contention for points.
"I would like to apologise to everyone in the team, everyone who got the car ready and put so much preparation into the British Grand Prix this weekend," said Sato. "I couldn't deliver the result we wanted and could have had today.
"The team did a great job to get me back in the race and I tried my best but was so far behind that I couldn't do anything."