Takuma Sato

Takuma Sato (佐藤 琢磨, Satō Takuma, born 28 January 1977) is a Japanese professional racing driver. Sato has raced full-time in the IndyCar Series since 2010 for the Honda-powered KV, Rahal, Foyt, Andretti, and again starting from 2018, the Rahal teams. Sato won the 2017 Indianapolis 500, becoming the first Asian driver to win the Indy 500.[1] He also became the first Japanese driver to win an IndyCar race when he won the 2013 Grand Prix of Long Beach. He competed in Formula One from 2002 to 2008 for the Honda-powered Jordan, BAR and Super Aguri teams, scoring a single podium at the 2004 United States Grand Prix. His 8th-place finish in the 2004 Formula One World Drivers' Championship is the best-ever result for a Japanese driver in the series.[2]

For the basketball player, see Takuma Sato (basketball).

Takuma Sato
Sato during the 2013 Grand Prix of Long Beach
Nationality	Japanese
Born	(1977-01-28) 28 January 1977 Tokyo, Japan
IndyCar Series career
170 races run over 11 years
Team(s)	No. 30 (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing)
2019 position	9th
Best finish	8th (2017)
First race	2010 São Paulo Indy 300 (São Paulo)
Last race	2020 Iowa INDYCAR 250s, Race 2 (Iowa)
First win	2013 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach (Long Beach)
Last win	2019 Bommarito Automotive Group 500 (Gateway)
Wins Podiums Poles 5 12 9
Formula One World Championship career
Active years	2002–2008
Teams	Jordan, BAR, Super Aguri
Entries	92 (90 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	1
Career points	44
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	2002 Australian Grand Prix
Last entry	2008 Spanish Grand Prix
British Formula 3 International Series
Years active	1999–2001
Teams	Carlin Motorsport, Diamond Racing
Starts	56
Wins	16
Poles	12
Best finish	1st in 2001
Formula Nippon/Super Formula Championship
Years active	2012 - 2013
Teams	Team Mugen
Starts	7
Wins	0
Poles	0
Best finish	15th in 2012
FIA World Endurance Championship
Years active	2012
Teams	OAK Racing
Starts	2
Wins	0
Poles	0
Best finish	80th in 2012
Formula E
Years active	2014-15
Teams	Amlin Aguri
Starts	1
Wins	0
Poles	0
Best finish	24th in 2014-15
Previous series
2000, 2001	Macau Grand Prix
Championship titles
2001 2001 2001	Macau Grand Prix Masters of Formula 3 British Formula Three

Racing career

Formula One

Jordan (2002)

In 2002 Sato graduated to Formula One with the Honda-powered Jordan team, and was paired with Giancarlo Fisichella. His low point was a tremendous crash in Austria, caused when Nick Heidfeld lost control of his Sauber under braking and hit the side of Sato's car, punching a hole in the side of the cockpit.[3] Throughout he showed flashes of speed but also wild driving, nevertheless the team's faith in Sato was repaid by a fine drive to fifth at his home Grand Prix in Suzuka.

BAR (2003–2005)

Sato celebrates his only Formula One podium finish, at the 2004 United States Grand Prix.

With Honda's focus shifting solely to British American Racing for 2003 Sato joined the Brackley-based outfit as a test driver. For the final round in Japan Sato replaced Jacques Villeneuve and scored the second points finish of his career with sixth, despite a collision with Michael Schumacher. He was signed to race full-time in 2004. His season was blighted by numerous engine failures, suffering no less than six. In spite of this Sato's aggressive driving style paid dividends at the United States Grand Prix, after the team did not pit under safety car conditions Sato fought back with some daring overtaking moves to score his first podium finish, the first for a Japanese driver since Aguri Suzuki at the 1990 Japanese Grand Prix. He finished eighth in the championship with 34 points, the best-ever result for a Japanese driver in Formula One.[2] His efforts helped the team to finish second in the Constructors' Championship.

Sato was retained by BAR-Honda for the 2005 season, but the 2005 car was not as close to the front of the pack as the previous year's design. Sato missed the Malaysian Grand Prix with illness, and both drivers were disqualified from the San Marino Grand Prix and the entire team banned from the two subsequent races for using cars which were underweight when all fuel was removed. The Court did not find that this was deliberate. Sato's season never recovered from that point, after a crash-strewn season which included being disqualified from the Japanese Grand Prix for an overly-ambitious move on Jarno Trulli, Sato was not re-signed for 2006, despite Honda taking full control of the team.

Super Aguri (2006–2008)

Sato joined the new Super Aguri F1 team for 2006, run by former Japanese driver Aguri Suzuki. The new outfit was in effect a Honda B-team but ran the first half of the season with a modified version of a 2002 Arrows A23 chassis. Nevertheless, Sato's reputation improved thanks to his professional attitude and competitive spirit. The team introduced a new car, the SA06 at the German Grand Prix and by the end of the season Sato was outpacing the Midland cars. At the season finale in Brazil Sato finished tenth just two places short of a points finish and comfortably ahead of both Toro Rossos and the Spyker MF1s.

Sato driving the Super Aguri SA07 in 2007. He scored the team's only points.

For 2007, Super Aguri ran a reworked version of the previous year's Honda RA106 chassis. Their performance improved drastically as Sato made it through to Q3 at the Australian Grand Prix. He then scored the first point for the team at the Spanish Grand Prix. At the Canadian Grand Prix, Sato finished sixth after having a race that had seen him move from the middle of the grid to a high of fifth, passing Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen before a pit-stop error dropped him back to eleventh. He moved up five places in the last 15 laps, passing Toyota's Ralf Schumacher and then on lap 67 the McLaren-Mercedes of world champion Fernando Alonso; the latter pass was met with cheers around the track.[4]

Financial problems began to affect the team in the off-season winter break and the Japanese squad only just made it to the opening round of the 2008 season in Australia. The team used a modified Honda RA107 chassis, which was launched just before the first Friday Practice session that weekend. The car was just as uncompetitive as the Honda had been in 2007 and the team withdrew from Formula One after the Spanish Grand Prix.

In late 2008, Sato took part in tests at Jerez with Scuderia Toro Rosso, to become a candidate to fill the seat vacated by Sebastian Vettel. He was competing against former Toro Rosso driver Sébastien Bourdais and Red Bull Racing test and reserve driver Sébastien Buemi for one of the two race seats.[5] He first drove on 18 September, more than four months since Super Aguri's withdrawal, and tested for the team again for two days in November, setting the fastest time on the 17th,[6] 3 tenths ahead of Buemi, and proceeded by setting the second-fastest time on the 18th.[7]

Bourdais eventually won the race seat and in March 2009 it was announced that Sato would not be the reserve driver for the Red Bull team.[8]

IndyCar Series

KV Racing Technology (2010–2011)

Sato driving for KV Racing at the 2011 Indy Japan 300.

Sato visited the Indianapolis 500 in May 2009. He signed with KV Racing Technology to drive in the 2010 IndyCar Series season[9] finishing in 21st place. He signed for the same team for 2011 and improved his form, scoring three top 5 finishes and two pole positions during the season to finish 13th.[10]

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (2012)

At the 2012 Indianapolis 500, driving for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Sato chased Dario Franchitti to the finish making a move for the lead and the race win at the first turn of the last lap. While not successful, Sato was respected by Indianapolis 500 fans for "going for it" on the last lap.

A. J. Foyt Enterprises (2013–2016)

Sato at the 2013 Grand Prix of Long Beach, where he took his first IndyCar win and became the first Japanese driver to do so.

For 2013, Sato joined A. J. Foyt's team, driving the No. 14 car vacated by Mike Conway. In the third race of the season at Long Beach, Sato scored his first IndyCar win, in his 52nd start in the series, making him the first Japanese driver to win an IndyCar race.[11] He then started to struggle for consistency, scoring just six top 5 finishes, including two podiums and two pole positions, until he left the team at the end of 2016.

Andretti Autosport (2017)

Takuma Sato after winning the Indianapolis 500 race event on May 28, 2017 - Indianapolis Indiana USA

Sato joined Andretti Autosport for the 2017 season. He went on to become the first Japanese driver and first non Caucasian driver to win the Indianapolis 500.[12] After the 500 win, he went on to win a pole at the Dual in Detroit on Belle Isle. He also ended up winning another pole at Pocono Raceway in August.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (2018–2020)

On 26 August 2017, it was reported that in 2018, Sato would rejoin RLL driving the 16 car (later renumbered 30 before the season started) and being a teammate to Graham Rahal as Andretti Autosport considered a move back with Chevrolet in 2018. That move by Andretti subsequently did not happen. After numerous weeks of bad luck including crashing early in the Indianapolis 500 and wrecking early at Pocono and a failed pit strategy at Gateway, Sato played the strategy right and held off Ryan Hunter-Reay in the IndyCar return to Portland, winning his third career race and his first on a permanent road course, doing so from 20th starting position. Sato started off his 2019 season with a win in the third race at Barber Motorsports Park; he started the race from pole position and ran away to the finish. Sato won later in the season at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. In the first race of the 2020 season at Texas Motor Speedway Sato crashed in qualifying and did not start the race.

Formula Nippon/Super Formula

On 14 June 2012, Mugen Motorsports announced that Sato would race with Team Mugen in the last 2 rounds, as well as the JAF Grand Prix, at Sportsland SUGO, Suzuka Circuit and Fuji Speedway of the 2012 Formula Nippon season.[13]

Formula E

On 20 November 2013, Sato became a test driver for the FIA Formula E Championship.[14] On 11 September 2014, Sato joined his former Formula One team Amlin Aguri to compete in Formula E, starting with the season-opening Beijing ePrix.[15] In the race, Sato was not classified, finishing the race four laps down despite setting the fastest lap with a time of 1:45.101, becoming the only driver in the series' history with a 100% fastest lap record.[16] He was replaced by Antonio Félix da Costa for the next round.

Personal life

Sato has two children.[17] Sato was a national cycling champion in high school, and still utilizes cycling as part of his physical training for his racing career.[18]

Motorsports career results

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Poles	Wins	Points	Position
1998	All-Japan Formula Three	Dome Project	1	0	0	0	NC
1999	British Formula 3 Championship – National Class	Diamond Racing	7	0	0	103	4th
	Europa Cup Britain		?	?	?	48	2nd
	Formula Opel European Union Series		?	?	1	115	6th
2000	British Formula 3 Championship	Carlin Motorsport	12	6	4	129	3rd
	European Formula 3 Cup		1	0	0	N/A	NC
	Macau Grand Prix		1	0	0	N/A	14th
	Masters of Formula 3		1	0	0	N/A	28th
	Korea Super Prix		1	0	0	N/A	8th
2001	British Formula 3 Championship	Carlin Motorsport	25	6	12	345	1st
	European Formula 3 Cup		1	0	0	N/A	NC
	Macau Grand Prix		1	0	1	N/A	1st
	Masters of Formula 3		1	1	1	N/A	1st
	Formula One	Lucky Strike BAR Honda	Test driver
2002	Formula One	DHL Jordan Honda	17	0	0	2	15th
2003	Formula One	Lucky Strike BAR Honda	1	0	0	3	18th
2004	Formula One	Lucky Strike BAR Honda	18	0	0	34	8th
2005	Formula One	Lucky Strike BAR Honda	16	0	0	1	23rd
2006	Formula One	Super Aguri F1 Team	18	0	0	0	23rd
2007	Formula One	Super Aguri F1 Team	17	0	0	4	17th
2008	Formula One	Super Aguri F1 Team	4	0	0	0	21st
		Scuderia Toro Rosso	Test Driver
2010	IndyCar Series	KV Racing Technology	17	0	0	214	21st
2011	IndyCar Series	KV Racing Technology – Lotus	17	2	0	282	13th
2012	IndyCar Series	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	15	0	0	281	14th
	Formula Nippon Championship	Team Mugen	3	0	0	0	15th
2013	IndyCar Series	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	19	2	1	322	17th
	Super Formula Championship	Team Mugen	4	0	0	0.5	18th
2014	IndyCar Series	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	18	2	0	350	18th
2014–15	Formula E	Amlin Aguri	1	0	0	2	24th
2015	IndyCar Series	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	16	0	0	323	14th
2016	IndyCar Series	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	16	0	0	320	17th
2017	IndyCar Series	Andretti Autosport	17	2	1	441	8th
2018	IndyCar Series	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	17	0	1	351	12th
2019	IndyCar Series	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	17	2	2	415	9th

* Season still in progress.

Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	WDC	Points
2002	DHL Jordan Honda	Jordan EJ12	Honda RA002E 3.0 V10	AUS Ret	MAL 9	BRA 9	SMR Ret	ESP Ret	AUT Ret	MON Ret	CAN 10	EUR 16	GBR Ret	FRA Ret	GER 8	HUN 10	BEL 11	ITA 12	USA 11	JPN 5			15th	2
2003	Lucky Strike BAR Honda	BAR 005	Honda RA003E 3.0 V10	AUS	MAL	BRA	SMR	ESP	AUT	MON	CAN	EUR	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	ITA	USA	JPN 6				18th	3
2004	Lucky Strike BAR Honda	BAR 006	Honda RA004E 3.0 V10	AUS 9	MAL 15^†	BHR 5	SMR 16^†	ESP 5	MON Ret	EUR Ret	CAN Ret	USA 3	FRA Ret	GBR 11	GER 8	HUN 6	BEL Ret	ITA 4	CHN 6	JPN 4	BRA 6		8th	34
2005	Lucky Strike BAR Honda	BAR 007	Honda RA005E 3.0 V10	AUS 14	MAL PO	BHR Ret	SMR DSQ	ESP	MON	EUR 12	CAN Ret	USA DNS	FRA 11	GBR 16	GER 12	HUN 8	TUR 9	ITA 16	BEL Ret	BRA 10	JPN DSQ	CHN Ret	23rd	1
2006	Super Aguri F1 Team	Super Aguri SA05	Honda RA806E 2.4 V8	BHR 18	MAL 14	AUS 12	SMR Ret	EUR Ret	ESP 17	MON Ret	GBR 17	CAN 15^†	USA Ret	FRA Ret									23rd	0
		Super Aguri SA06													GER Ret	HUN 13	TUR NC	ITA 16	CHN DSQ	JPN 15	BRA 10
2007	Super Aguri F1	Super Aguri SA07	Honda RA807E 2.4 V8	AUS 12	MAL 13	BHR Ret	ESP 8	MON 17	CAN 6	USA Ret	FRA 16	GBR 14	EUR Ret	HUN 15	TUR 18	ITA 16	BEL 15	JPN 15^†	CHN 14	BRA 12			17th	4
2008	Super Aguri F1	Super Aguri SA08	Honda RA808E 2.4 V8	AUS Ret	MAL 16	BHR 17	ESP 13	TUR	MON	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	EUR	BEL	ITA	SIN	CHN	JPN	BRA		21st	0

^† Did not finish the race, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.

American open–wheel racing

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

IndyCar Series

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Rank	Points
2010	KV Racing Technology	Dallara IR-05	Honda	SAO 22	STP 22	ALA 25	LBH 18	KAN 24	INDY 20	TXS 25	IOW 19	WGL 15	TOR 25	EDM 9	MDO 25	SNM 18	CHI 26	KTY 27	MOT 12	HMS 18			21st	214
2011	KV Racing Technology – Lotus			STP 5	ALA 17	LBH 21	SAO 8	INDY 33	TXS 5	TXS 12	MIL 8	IOW 19	TOR 20	EDM 21	MDO 4	NHM 7	SNM 18	BAL 18	MOT 10	KTY 15	LVS^1 C		13th	282
2012	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Dallara DW12		STP 22	ALA 24	LBH 8	SAO 3	INDY 17	DET 20	TXS 22	MIL 20	IOW 12	TOR 9	EDM 2	MDO 13	SNM 27	BAL 21	FON 7					14th	281
2013	A. J. Foyt Enterprises			STP 8	ALA 14	LBH 1	SAO 2	INDY 13	DET 19	DET 23	TXS 11	MIL 7	IOW 23	POC 22	TOR 24	TOR 20	MDO 22	SNM 23	BAL 24	HOU 17	HOU 14	FON 17	17th	322
2014				STP 7	LBH 22	ALA 13	IMS 9	INDY 19	DET 18	DET 18	TXS 18	HOU 22	HOU 19	POC 21	IOW 22	TOR 23	TOR 5	MDO 18	MIL 15	SNM 4	FON 6		18th	350
2015				STP 13	NLA 22	LBH 18	ALA 17	IMS 9	INDY 13	DET 11	DET 2	TXS 16	TOR 10	FON 18	MIL 14	IOW 19	MDO 24	POC 6	SNM 8				14th	323
2016				STP 6	PHX 15	LBH 5	ALA 13	IMS 18	INDY 26	DET 11	DET 10	RDA 17	IOW 11	TOR 5	MDO 9	POC 22	TXS 20	WGL 17	SNM 14				17th	320
2017	Andretti Autosport			STP 5	LBH 18	ALA 9	PHX 16	IMS 12	INDY 1	DET 8	DET 4	TXS 10	RDA 19	IOW 16	TOR 16	MDO 5	POC 13	GTW 19	WGL 19	SNM 20			8th	441
2018	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing			STP 12	PHX 11	LBH 21	ALA 8	IMS 10	INDY 32	DET 5	DET 17	TXS 7	RDA 4	IOW 3	TOR 22	MDO 17	POC 21	GTW 9	POR 1	SNM 25			12th	351
2019				STP 19	COA 7	ALA 1	LBH 8	IMS 14	INDY 3	DET 3	DET 13	TXS 15	RDA 10	TOR 22	IOW 20	MDO 19	POC 21	GTW 1	POR 15	LAG 21			9th	415
2020				TXS DNS	IMS 10	ROA 9	ROA 8	IOW 10	IOW 21	INDY	GTW	GTW	IMS	IMS	STP								17th*	99*

¹ The 2011 Las Vegas Indy 300 was abandoned after Dan Wheldon died from injuries sustained in a 15-car crash on lap 11.

Years	Teams	Races	Poles	Wins	Podiums	Top 5s	Top 10s	Indianapolis 500 Wins	Championships
9	4	153	8	4	9	21	48	1	0

Indianapolis 500

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish	Team
2010	Dallara	Honda	31	20	KV Racing Technology
2011	Dallara	Honda	10	33	KV Racing Technology – Lotus
2012	Dallara	Honda	19	17	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
2013	Dallara	Honda	18	13	A. J. Foyt Enterprises
2014	Dallara	Honda	23	19	A. J. Foyt Enterprises
2015	Dallara	Honda	24	13	A. J. Foyt Enterprises
2016	Dallara	Honda	12	26	A. J. Foyt Enterprises
2017	Dallara	Honda	4	1	Andretti Autosport
2018	Dallara	Honda	16	32	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
2019	Dallara	Honda	14	3	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

Year	Entrant	Class	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Rank	Points
2012	OAK Racing	LMP1	OAK Pescarolo 01	Honda LM-V8 3.4 L V8	SEB	SPA	LMS	SIL	SÃO	BHR	FUJ 16	SHA 14	80th	1

Complete Formula Nippon/Super Formula results

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	DC	Points
2012	Team Mugen	SUZ	MOT	AUT	FUJ	MOT	SUG 9	SUZ 17	SUZ 10	15th	0
2013		SUZ 15	AUT	FUJ	MOT	SUG 11	SUZ 9	SUZ 8		18th	0.5

Complete Formula E results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Chassis	Powertrain	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Pos	Points
2014–15	Amlin Aguri	Spark SRT01-e	SRT01-e	BEI Ret	PUT	PDE	BUE	MIA	LBH	MCO	BER	MSC	LON	LON	24th	2

See also

• List of Japanese people
• Andrew Gilbert-Scott – his manager since his Junior Formula career in Europe until 2009

References

1. Malsher, David (28 May 2017). "Indy 500: Sato wins after thrilling shootout with Castroneves". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
2. "Japan • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
3. Henry (ed.) (2002) Autocourse Haymarket publishing p.139
4. Benson, Andrew (10 June 2007). "Canadian Grand Prix". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
5. "Sato in shoot-out for '09 STR drive". ITV-F1. 2 September 2008. Archived from the original on 3 September 2008.
6. "Barcelona day one – Sato sets test pace for Toro Rosso". FOM. 17 November 2008.
7. "Barcelona day two – Vettel fastest for Red Bull". FOM. 18 November 2008.
8. Beer, Matt (4 March 2009). "Sato no longer in Red Bull reserve frame". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
9. "Sato secures KV IndyCar deal". Autosport.
10. Beer, Matt (4 February 2011). "Sato and Viso retain KV seats". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
11. "Sato becomes first Japanese driver to win IndyCar race". USA Today. 21 April 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
12. Malsher, David (28 May 2017). "Indy 500: Sato wins after thrilling shootout with Castroneves". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
13. "Takuma Sato will join TEAM MUGEN to challenge Formula NIPPON Round6 SPORTSLAND SUGO, Round7 SUZUKA CIRCUIT, and JAF GP FUJI SPRINT CUP". Mugen Motorsports. M-TEC Co., Ltd. 14 June 2012. Archived from the original on 30 May 2014. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
14. DiZinno, Tony (20 November 2013). "Takuma Sato will test for Formula E, which could alter Foyt seat". NBC Sports. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
15. "Sato signs up for Formula E opener". ESPN. 11 September 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
16. "2014 Beijing ePrix". Racing-Reference. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
17. "Takuma Sato announces birth of second child". f1sa.com. 1 October 2008. Archived from the original on 10 December 2008. Retrieved 2 October 2008.
18. "Takuma Sato". IndyCar.com. Retrieved 30 May 2017.

External links

• Official website
• Takuma Sato career summary at DriverDB.com
• Takuma Sato driver statistics at Racing-Reference

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Antônio Pizzonia	Autosport National Racing Driver of the Year 2001	Succeeded by Robbie Kerr
Sporting positions
Preceded by Antônio Pizzonia	British Formula Three Champion 2001	Succeeded by Robbie Kerr
Preceded by Jonathan Cochet	Formula Three Masters Winner 2001	Succeeded by Fabio Carbone
Preceded by André Couto	Macau Grand Prix Winner 2001	Succeeded by Tristan Gommendy
Preceded by Alexander Rossi	Indianapolis 500 Winner 2017	Succeeded by Will Power