Sato Takuma(Tokyo, 28/01/1977)

Website: www.takumasato.com

Takuma Sato (born on 28 January 1977 in Tokyo, Japan) is a Japanese racing driver who has built a high-profile international career between Formula 1 and North American competition, becoming one of the most globally recognised figures in Asian motorsport.

After beginning his career in karting in Japan, Sato moved to Europe in the late 1990s to continue his single-seater development. In 2000 he won the British Formula 3 Championship with the Carlin team, a result that earned him a place in Honda’s young driver programme. The following year he competed in the Formula 3000 Championship, finishing second overall.

His Formula 1 debut came in 2002 with Jordan, a season in which he scored the first World Championship points ever achieved by a Japanese driver. From 2003 to 2005 he raced with BAR, securing his career-best Formula 1 result with a third-place finish at the 2004 United States Grand Prix. He later became part of the Super Aguri project (2006-2008), serving as the team’s reference driver and contributing to the best results in the short history of the squad.

After leaving Formula 1, Sato relocated permanently to the United States, focusing on IndyCar. Following several years of adaptation, he achieved his first successes from 2013 onwards and established himself as an oval specialist. The pinnacle of his career came with victories at the Indianapolis 500 in 2017 and 2020, making him the first Japanese driver to win the most iconic race in American motorsport, and the only one to have won it twice.

Alongside his IndyCar activities, Sato has also taken part in endurance programmes, competing in selected editions of the IMSA Championship with prototype-class cars, combining racing duties with a strong role in technical development.

Among the curiosities, Sato is known for his extremely aggressive driving style, which has made him particularly competitive on oval circuits, and for being a key figure in the international promotion of Japanese motorsport, thanks in part to the strong relationship maintained with Honda throughout his career.

GP Results

GP/Points Graph

Year	Team	Chassis	Points
2007	Super Aguri	SA07	4
2006	Super Aguri	SA05	0
2005	BAR	BAR 007	1
2004	BAR	006	34
2003	BAR	BAR 005	3
2002	Jordan	EJ12	2

* World Championships with at least 1 point won (since 2001)

Year	Team	Teammate	Win
2008	Super Aguri F1 (SA08)	Davidson A.	2 VS 16
2007	Super Aguri (SA07)	Davidson A.	7 VS 10
2006	Super Aguri F1 Team (SA05)	Yamamoto S.	6 VS 1
2005	Lucky Strike BAR Honda (BAR 007)	Button J.	0 VS 18
2004	Lucky Strike BAR Honda (006)	Button J.	7 VS 11
2002	Jordan Grand Prix Honda (EJ12)	Fisichella G.	5 VS 12
Total			27 VS 68

Grand Prix	Team	Chassis	Pos.
Canadian GP 2007	Super Aguri	SA07	6
Spanish GP 2007	Super Aguri	SA07	8
Brazilian GP 2006	Super Aguri F1 Team	SA05	10
Brazilian GP 2005	Lucky Strike BAR Honda	BAR 007	10
Turkish GP 2005	Lucky Strike BAR Honda	BAR 007	9
Hungarian GP 2005	Lucky Strike BAR Honda	BAR 007	8
Brazilian GP 2004	Lucky Strike BAR Honda	006	6
Japanese GP 2004	Lucky Strike BAR Honda	006	4
Australian GP 2004	Lucky Strike BAR Honda	006	9
Italian GP 2004	Lucky Strike BAR Honda	006	4
Bahrain GP 2004	Lucky Strike BAR Honda	006	5
Hungarian GP 2004	Lucky Strike BAR Honda	006	6
German GP 2004	Lucky Strike BAR Honda	006	8
United States GP 2004	Lucky Strike BAR Honda	006	3
Spanish GP 2004	Lucky Strike BAR Honda	006	5
Chinese GP 2004	Lucky Strike BAR Honda	006	6
Japanese GP 2003	Lucky Strike BAR Honda	BAR 005	6
Japanese GP 2002	Jordan Grand Prix Honda	EJ12	5
Hungarian GP 2002	Jordan Grand Prix Honda	EJ12	10
German GP 2002	Jordan Grand Prix Honda	EJ12	8
Canadian GP 2002	Jordan Grand Prix Honda	EJ12	10
Brazilian GP 2002	Jordan Grand Prix Honda	EJ12	9
Malaysian GP 2002	Jordan Grand Prix Honda	EJ12	9

* Grand prix finishes in the top 10 (since 2001)

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