Category | Formula One | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Constructor | Super Aguri F1 | ||||||||||
Designer(s) | Mark Preston (Technical director) Peter McCool (Chief Designer) Ben Wood (Head of Aerodynamics) | ||||||||||
Predecessor | SA07 | ||||||||||
Technical specifications | |||||||||||
Chassis | Moulded carbon fibre and honeycomb composite monocoque | ||||||||||
Suspension (front) | Double wishbone with pushrod-activated torsion springs and rockers, Showa dampers | ||||||||||
Suspension (rear) | As front | ||||||||||
Engine | Honda RA808E 2.4L 90° V8, naturally aspirated, mid-mounted | ||||||||||
Transmission | 7-speed sequential semi-automatic | ||||||||||
Fuel | BP | ||||||||||
Lubricants | Castrol | ||||||||||
Tyres | Bridgestone | ||||||||||
Competition history | |||||||||||
Notable entrants | Super Aguri F1 Team | ||||||||||
Notable drivers | 18. Takuma Sato 19. Anthony Davidson | ||||||||||
Debut | 2008 Australian Grand Prix | ||||||||||
Last event | 2008 Spanish Grand Prix | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Constructors' Championships | 0 | ||||||||||
Drivers' Championships | 0 |
The Super Aguri SA08 is a Formula One racing car with which Super Aguri F1 competed in the 2008 Formula One season.
The SA08, similarly to the SA07, was a reworked design of the prior season's Honda F1 car - the RA107. [1]
Pre season testing did not start well for the team. At the scheduled January test in Jerez, James Rossiter was limited to just 10 laps in three days of testing due to parts issues. [2] The team fared better at the February test, with drivers Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson completing consistent running of around 100 laps each per day. [3] [4] [5]
However, as the team progressed toward the season financial difficulties became apparent. While the SA08 passed its mandatory FIA crash test, the launch was cancelled and the team did not attend the final pre season test at Catalunya. [6] [7] [8]
Ahead of the first Grand Prix, it was understood the Magma Group were to acquire Super Aguri, and at this stage Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson were confirmed as the race drivers for the SA08. [9] Later, James Rossiter would be appointed test driver. [10]
At the first race in Australia, the team arrived with the SA08 and unveiled the car officially during Friday practice. It was finished in a red, white and black livery however was bereft of sponsors. [11] [12] Sato outqualified Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr. In the race, both cars would retire. Davidson from a collision involving Jenson Button, Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel whilst Sato suffered transmission failure on lap 32. [13]
In Malaysia, Sato once again qualified 20th this time ahead of Adrian Sutil. Both SA08's were able to finish with Davidson in 15th and Sato in 16th. [14] By Bahrain, the SA08 was off the pace, with Davidson qualifying 21st behind Sutil by nearly four tenths of a second. Sato crashed causing wing and suspension damage to his car, leaving him with a best time that was over four and a half seconds slower than the best time of qualifying. [15]
The 2008 Spanish Grand Prix would be the SA08, and the Super Aguri team as a whole's final Grand Prix. Qualifying on the back row once again, Davidson was forced to retire on lap 21 and while Takuma Sato was the final classified car in 13th place. [16]
Ahead of the next race in Turkey, the team's trucks were barred from accessing the circuit. The Magma Group takeover collapsed, and a later deal from the Weigl Group did not pass Honda's scrutiny. [17] Therefore the SA08 would not race in Formula One again. [18] [19]
(key)
Year | Team | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Points | WCC |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | Super Aguri F1 Team | Honda V8 | B | AUS | MAL | BHR | ESP | TUR | MON | CAN | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | EUR | BEL | ITA | SIN | JPN | CHN | BRA | 0 | 11th | |
Sato | Ret | 16 | 17 | 13 | WD | |||||||||||||||||||
Davidson | Ret | 15 | 16 | Ret | WD |
Takuma Sato, nicknamed "Taku", is a Japanese professional racing driver. He competes part-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 11 Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing. Sato is a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, having won the event in 2017 and 2020. He was the first Asian driver to win the Indianapolis 500, and the twentieth driver to win the race more than once. Before winning the Indianapolis 500, Sato became the first Japanese-born driver to win an IndyCar Series race when he won the 2013 Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Midland F1 Racing was a Formula One constructor and racing team which competed in the 2006 Formula One season with drivers Christijan Albers and Tiago Monteiro. The team was created by the renaming of Jordan Grand Prix after its purchase by Canadian businessman, and owner of the Midland Group, Alex Shnaider. The team was licensed as the first Russian Formula One team, although it continued to be based in the United Kingdom, at Jordan's Silverstone factory. Towards the end of the 2006 season, the team was sold to Spyker Cars N.V.; the team raced in its last three Grands Prix under the official name Spyker MF1 Racing. In 2007, the team competed as Spyker F1, and in 2008 was sold to Indian businessman Vijay Mallya and was renamed Force India F1.
Anthony Denis Davidson is a British former racing driver, currently working as an analyst for the Sky Sports F1 television channel, as part of the commentary team for WEC TV, as colour commentator for the F1 series of video games, and as simulator and demonstration driver for Mercedes AMG Petronas. He is best known for racing in Formula One for Minardi and Super Aguri, and has been a test or reserve driver for the British American Racing, Honda, and Brawn GP teams. Davidson was the 2014 WEC World Champion, alongside his teammate, Sébastien Buemi.
Aguri Suzuki is a Japanese former racing driver. He participated in 88 Formula One Grands Prix, his best result being third place at the 1990 Japanese Grand Prix. He then became involved in team ownership, with interests firstly in the Japanese Formula Nippon Championship and the IRL in partnership with Mexican racer Adrian Fernandez. He was the owner of the Super Aguri F1 team, which participated in Formula One from 2006 to 2008. He then went on to form Team Aguri, which raced in Formula E from 2014 to 2016.
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Super Aguri F1 was a Formula One team that competed from 2006 to 2008. The team, founded by former F1 driver Aguri Suzuki, was based in Tokyo, Japan, but operated from the former Arrows factory at the Leafield Technical Centre, Oxfordshire, England. The cars were referred to as Super Aguri Hondas, with the team functioning to some degree as an unofficial Honda 'B'-team. After participating in the championship for 2 years and 4 months, the team withdrew from F1 after 4 races in the 2008 season due to financial difficulties. Throughout the team's time in the sport, it scored four points, all of which were scored by Takuma Sato during the 2007 season.
Sakon Yamamoto is a Japanese racing driver turned politician. He competed in 21 Formula One Grands Prix during the 2006, 2007 and 2010 seasons.
The 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 62nd season of Formula One motor racing, recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) – the governing body of motorsport – as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. The championship was contested over eighteen races commencing in Australia on 16 March and ending in Brazil on 2 November. The 2008 season saw the debut of the Singapore Grand Prix, which was held at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, in Marina Bay, Singapore and was the first Formula One race held at night. The European Grand Prix moved to a new venue at the Valencia Street Circuit, in Valencia, Spain.
Yuji Ide is a Japanese racing driver. He is the 2005 Formula Nippon runner-up and the 2010 Suzuka 1000km winner. He competed in Formula One with the Super Aguri team in 2006, but was demoted to third driver after four races and subsequently lost his FIA Super Licence.
James Stuart Rossiter is a British former professional racing driver, British motorsport executive and former team principal of Maserati MSG Racing in Formula E.
The 2006 Chinese Grand Prix was the sixteenth race of the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship. It was held on 1 October 2006 at Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai. The race was won by Michael Schumacher, driving a Ferrari, and would turn out to be the 91st and last victory of his Formula One career. It was also his last podium finish until the 2012 European Grand Prix, during his comeback to the sport, and the last win for a German driver until Sebastian Vettel won the 2008 Italian Grand Prix.
The 2007 Malaysian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race, held on 8 April 2007 at the Sepang International Circuit and the second race of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship. Reigning world champion Fernando Alonso won the race from second on the grid, with McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton finishing second. This marked McLaren's first one-two finish since the 2005 Brazilian Grand Prix. Previous race winner Kimi Räikkönen finished third. Räikkönen's Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa started the race from pole position, but was passed by both McLarens in the first two corners of the first lap, eventually finishing in fifth place behind BMW's Nick Heidfeld.
The Super Aguri SA07 was Super Aguri F1's Formula One car for the 2007 Formula One season. It was designed by Peter McCool and was driven by Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson.
The 2007 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race, the fourth race of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship, won by Felipe Massa. It was held on 13 May 2007 at the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain.
The 2007 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 30 September 2007 at the Fuji Speedway, Oyama, Shizuoka. The 67-lap race was the fifteenth round of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship. It was held at the recently revised track in very heavy rain and misty conditions. For the previous 20 years, the Japanese Grand Prix had been held at Suzuka Circuit, but at this race it returned to Fuji for the first time since 1977. The race was won by McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton, who also took pole position and the fastest lap of the race. Heikki Kovalainen achieved his first podium, by finishing second for the Renault team, whilst Kimi Räikkönen finished in third for Ferrari. Adrian Sutil scored Spyker's first and only point by finishing 9th and being promoted to 8th after the race.
The 2007 Belgian Grand Prix was the fourteenth race of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship, returning to the Formula One calendar after a year's absence. It was held on 16 September at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, near the village of Francorchamps, Wallonia, Belgium.
The 2007 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 10 June 2007 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was the sixth race of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship. The race was won by Lewis Hamilton, starting from pole position, in his first season in the top formula. It was Hamilton's first of an eventual record breaking 103 victories in Formula One. Nick Heidfeld finished second and Alexander Wurz was third, making it the first Grand Prix of the 2007 season that drivers from teams other than Ferrari and McLaren achieved podium positions.
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The 2007 British Grand Prix was the ninth race of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship. It was held on 8 July 2007 at the Silverstone Circuit. The race was won by Kimi Räikkönen after overtaking pole position driver Lewis Hamilton during the first round of pit stops. Second place was taken by Fernando Alonso and Hamilton was third. With his ninth straight podium, Hamilton set the record for most consecutive podium finishes in a debut season.
There has been a total of 21 Formula One drivers from Japan, of whom 18 took part in a race, with varying degrees of success.
Super Aguri profile at GPRejects.com