Sato Battles Shoulder Pain to Finish Fourth

Home favourite Takuma Sato was disappointed after missing out on a podium finish at today's Japanese Grand Prix.

Sato came home in fourth place as his BAR-Honda team virtually secured second place in the Constructors' Championship. The team extended their advantage over Renault to 16 points with only the Brazilian Grand Prix remaining.

Sato, sixth at Suzuka last year as a late replacement after Jacques Villeneuve departed BAR, battled a sore shoulder and had to go without liquid for much of the race.

"My right shoulder was killing me," said Sato, who spent much of the race adjusting his position to minimise the pain. "It hurt from before and I didn't have much treatment on it. I'll need to make sure it's not a problem in Brazil.

"Then after about 20 laps my water bottle stopped working so I was getting really thirsty. I kept attacking but it was a very tough race."

Sato broke the pain barrier to finish fourth but put aside his personal disappointment at failing to get on the podium in Japan.

"I really attacked the whole way through so it's a little bit of a pity I couldn't get on the podium," he said. "But at the end of the day it's a great team result."